Core Issues: Season One
by Nicolle
Summary: A mysterious group is destroying alternate timelines. Can Gaster!Sans and Army!Frisk stop the anomalies in time?
1. Ep 1 - Core Issues

Core Issues  
by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is the creation of Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans, our lovely narrator, is the the creation of Borurou. This story is copyrighted to me.

1\. This story references Underfell, but only really hits heavily on Technotale which is my AU. The basics for Technotale can be found here: baaikha. tumblr post/ 135260973145/ undertale-au-technotale. If you are inspired to do so, run with it!

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and a some nightmare fuel at the end.

Episode One: Core Issues  
(Bones, the Sans of this world, is our narrator!)

A vibration on my sternum jolted me awake. I looked at my phone for a second before shoving it in my pocket.

"Dammit, Blue. It's three in the morning."

Sitting up, I looked around for a bottle of Red Hot sauce, found one, and discovered it was empty.

"Great."

I'd fallen asleep on the couch in the Seraph Foundation's communal living room. Again. Paps would complain about it come morning. Provided I was still around. I hadn't looked at the message, but Blue never contacted us unless it was a mission. I stumbled to my feet and headed down the dark hallway.

There was a light on in the lab, and a quick peek revealed Asriel at work on some project or other. I was never really sure what the goat prince was up to half the time since his specialty was biomedical engineering. Medicine was not my forte. Time and space distortion? That's my bae.

A red glow beckoned me down the hall to Frisk's office. It blinked out suddenly when I got to the door. Frisk murmured ascent into her phone as she wrote. She turned and looked at me. I waved the empty bottle at her.

She put down her phone. "Asriel bought an entire flat of Cholula sauce for you. It's in the kitchen."

"Where is Blue sending us now?"

She smiled.

"What?"

Frisk pulled her hair back in a braid. "It's funny how you all call him 'Blue.' Not 'Prime' or 'Alpha.' As if for some reason his use of blue magic is unique to him."

"It's the hoodie."

"That makes even less sense. You all wear hoodies."

I snorted. "This, _sweetheart_ , is a fur lined, leather bomber jacket. And you are wearing an exact replica."

"Yeah. But it looks better on me."

I pulled the note out of her hands. "I _own_ this look." I glanced at the equations in Frisk's neat script and resisted the urge to solve them. "Any details?"

She shook her head. "Just that the Fase Real Intelligence System Kore isolated it as an anomaly."

I grimaced. "Her."

"What?"

"Of all the Frisk's, she's the one that scares me the most."

"Why?"

I changed the subject. "Standard op, then?"

Thankfully, Frisk didn't force the subject. "As soon as I gear up, yeah."

Her legs were unsteady as she rose and I grabbed her arm. "Woah there, Babe. Maybe you should get some sleep first. Why were you up this late?"

Frisk shook herself a little and headed for the equipment room. "Asriel wanted to check all the wires and chips in my head."

I followed her down the hall. "So why did you let him do that to you?"

"You know I didn't have a choice. I was unconscious and dying at the time." She opened the door to the armory and grabbed her equipment bag from a nearby shelf.

"I meant, why do you let him take all night? Or is giving you a check up code for 'snu-snu?'"

She dropped her jacket on a bench and changed into her armor reinforced uniform. "I am not letting you watch Futurama anymore."

I leaned against the door, giving her my best, lecherous smile. "So, no 'Netflix and Chill' this weekend?"

She picked up her jacket and put it back on. "I'm going to pound you into the floor now."

"Bow chicka bow wow!" I jumped out of her reach just fast enough to trip over the skull of a GB. It looked up at me mournfully, worried I was angry. I rubbed it's boney snout reassuringly. It looked up at Frisk, who patted it on the nose before she pulled up her collar to cover her neck.

"Off the floor, Bones. I want to be done so I can get back to writing my tell all book."

I stood and dusted off my jeans. "Does it have pictures of me in compromising positions?"

"No."

I opened my mouth to deliver a zinger.

"Just your brother."

I sighed. "Yeah right." I put my right arm around her waist. Lifting my left hand, I turned it so instead of seeing through the hole, I was gazing into my own, very personal, rift in space. I started solving the equations. The darkness in that space parted.

We landed in a snowy forest away from the path to Snowdin. The GB squeaked and rolled around in the snow. Frisk looked toward town.

I followed her gaze. "That's a lot of smoke."

"That's smog." She pulled out her mask and put it on.

Staying off the path we trudged through the woods. When we got close to Snowdin, I climbed a tree to have a look at the town and wished I hadn't. "The town is caked in filth."

"So it's like your bedroom?"

"Nah. I would never let my guitar collection get dirty." I looked around. "I don't see anyone, but there are lit windows."

"What about your place?"

I flinched a little. I really didn't like it when anyone referred to a different Sans-es' things as my own. But it was never a discussion I wanted to have either. I squinted. "Dark."

"Let's check it out."

We skulked into town behind the line of houses. I pulled out my keys and tried the lock on this world's version of my old laboratory. The lock didn't even turn. I pulled out my lock picks and went to work while Frisk and the GB kept a look out. The door popped open after a couple seconds. I flipped on the light and looked around. The lab was cleaned out. The time machine, the blue prints, everything was gone.

Frisk's head popped in the door. "The house is empty and nothing is out of place. It looks like it's been empty for a while."

I stepped outside and pulled the door shut. "The lab's cleaned out."

Even behind the mask, I could see her frown. "I don't know why there's so much smog. There aren't any factories that I can see."

"Let's move on to Waterfall and check out Undyne's place."

An hour later we stood in front of the wreckage that was Undyne's house. I've seen her place burned down, flooded, used for target practice, and shaken apart by a super loud music lesson. But this, I couldn't make heads or tails of what I was looking at. Frisk started digging through the wreckage and I stood back, waiting. The last time I tried to help when she was investigating had not gone well.

"Bones? Can you move this wall over there?" She pointed to a large section that had fallen on the open living space. My eye flared to life and I gently set the wall aside, revealing the mess that had been Undyne's living room and kitchen.

Frisk jumped over a pile of debris and started digging around the floor. "Big fight. Three people. By the foot prints, it was Sans and Undyne going at it." She gently lifted a sneaker. "This Frisk is either a very tall child or a pre-teen. It looks like Undyne was protecting her." She pointed to the wall I had moved. "Those are GB blast marks, but they aren't whole. Meaning Undyne really took it in the face." Something caught her eye and she threaded her way back toward Undyne's bedroom. She picked up a long red scarf and shook off the dust before pulling down her mask and putting it to her nose.

"Did this Frisk kill Paps?"

"No. It doesn't smell like you. It smells like teen girl."

"Are you implying that I smell bad?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You don't. But some Sans-es have the odour-du-lazy in massive amounts." She tossed the scarf to me. "Stow that somewhere safe. We need to get to the Lab and watch Alphys tapes."

"Hotland's quite a ways," I mused.

"You want to portal? It might tip off this world's Sans. It will definitely tip off this world's Flowey."

"Based on what you see here, could you take Sans in a fight?"

Frisk's smile grew wide and she giggled as she put her mask back in place.

I rolled my eyes. "We'll portal. I don't know why, but I'm not really all that worried about Flowey."

Frisk hopped over the debris, hooked a finger in the GB's snout, and took my hand. The world went black in a swirl and when color came back, we were standing outside the back entrance of the Lab. Frisk put her ear to the door before opening it. The lights were out, but the machinery was running. There was movement under the desk.

"Alphys?" Frisk called.

"Don't hurt me!" came the pained response.

I flicked on the lights and Alphys screamed.

Frisk knelt down next to the desk. "It's okay. We aren't here to hurt you, Alphys. We came to help."

The lizard woman turned her head slowly and looked at Frisk. Alphys reached up and pulled down the breathing mask covering Frisk's nose and mouth. "Frisk?"

My Frisk nodded with a warm smile.

"How?"

"I'm not your Frisk. We're from a different universe."

"We?" Alphys craned her neck to look up at me. I smiled and gave her a half-hearted salute. She blinked a few times, very rapidly. "You're Sans?"

I cocked my head toward Frisk. "Her Sans. Most people call me 'Bones.'"

"Alphys?" Frisk asked, "Can you tell us what's going on?"

She looked back and forth between the two of us very quickly before putting her head in her hands. "I don't know what's happening!" She suddenly grabbed a hold of Frisk's arms, and a thrum went up my spine. "I was at a beach resort with Undyne! She and Frisk had fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie, and the next thing I know I'm back in the Lab watching a video feed of Frisk in the forest outside of Snowdin!"

"You were on the surface?" I asked.

Alphys nodded.

"May we watch the tapes from your video feed?"

She shook her head and started weeping. "You don't want to see those!"

Frisk petted Alphys scaly head and cooed to calm her. My impatience rose quickly. I resisted the urge to tap my foot.

Frisk pulled the lizard woman out from under the desk and took her over to the dark monitor. "Show us the tapes."

She nodded and shakily turned on the monitor. After a few button pushes, the video started and Alphys hurried away from the screen, sitting on the floor with her back to it, covering her ears.

The video cut in just as a pre-teen Frisk burst through the door of the Ruins. She was covered in a fine dust and running in shear terror while looking backwards at something. She tripped over a fallen tree branch and lay there in the snow, weeping profusely. When she finally stood, it seemed mechanical in nature, like she was fighting her own body. She stumbled to the nearest tree and started banging her head against it repeatedly and violently.

The video cut out and picked up with the girl sitting on her heels in front of Papyrus. He assured her that everything was alright and whatever was happening could be fixed. And then his skull fell into her lap. She screamed and I looked away so I wouldn't watch Paps turn to dust. When I looked back, I saw a Sans who looked exactly like Blue but was filled with so much rage that his eye had activated on it's own. The girl grabbed Papyrus' scarf and ran.

"Oh, kid. That never works," I whispered.

Frisk glanced at me for a second before a scream glued her back to the screen. The video cut in several places, following the girl as she did everything in her power to evade Sans as he teleported ahead and around her. When her terror peaked, she ran into Undyne, who grabbed her, and they both disappeared into the river.

The video picked up with, as Frisk had predicted, Undyne protecting the girl in the rubble of the house before a flying bone hit it's mark. Undyne fell to her knees, smiling at the girl as her body faded to dust. Sans grabbed the girl by the arm, ripped Pap's scarf from her neck, and ported away. The video feed died as the side wall of the house crashed down, scattering Undyne's dust across the area and leaving the wreckage we found earlier.

Frisk looked at me. "Where would you have gone?"

I rubbed the back of my head and stared at the ceiling. "I would have taken the equipment from my lab and gone to the Core to try hooking Frisk into the Time Machine to see if I could get it to work off the power of her Determination." I folded my arms over my chest. "It won't work though."

Frisk cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because the Time Machine is incapable of working."

"But we also haven't seen any Sans who looked so willing to just off their Frisk either. Not even Red."

"He still killed her several times before he gave in."

Frisk sighed. "Let's get to the Core." She took a step toward the door and stumbled with a groan.

I caught her before she hit the floor and switched her weight onto my shoulder.

Alphys jumped up. "Is Frisk alright?!"

I frowned and picked her up bridal style. "C? What's going on?"

A red glow burst to life on Frisk's shoulder and a small hologram of Chara Dreemurr looked up at me. "She's okay. Just asleep. She hasn't slept in 48 hours."

I rolled my eyes. "Great."

"She likes to tell herself that she did this all the time back in the day. And increasingly forgets that she doesn't have as much practice doing it now a days. She's also neglected to eat in the last twelve hours."

"So high maintenance."

Alphys stared in wonder. "A hologram!"

C turned to Alphys. "Hello, Dr. Alphys. I am C, the artificial intelligence based off the memories of Chara Dreemurr, the adopted human child of Toriel and Asgore. Asriel made me shortly after Chara's death and implanted me into Frisk when she fell into the Underground."

Alphys blinked a few times and looked at me. "That's not the story as I know it."

I shrugged. "It's different from universe to universe. Got a bed I can put her in?"

"Oh yeah! There are plenty of beds below." She opened the door to the elevator and took us into the True Lab.

I slipped Frisk's pack off of her back and put her on a bed. As gently as I could, I moved her hands to clasp over her stomach. I must have been watching her sleep for a while because Alphys coughed nervously behind me.

I turned and smiled, scratching the back of my head. "Sorry! Spaced out there."

Alphys grabbed my hand and adjusted her glasses while looking at it. "You are _nothing_ like the Sans I know."

I straightened up and took my hand back. "Not in the least." I sat down on the bed so I would be eye level with her. "What do you want to know? Ask away."

She looked at my Frisk and back to me. "How does she have such a high LV and still be so caring?"

"Yeah. It's pretty up there, huh?" I smiled and looked up, remembering. "Frisk was an adult when she fell. She's former military, but if you ask her about it, she'll dodge any questions about what her service entailed. She's genuinely sweet and caring with a high tolerance for bullshit. But when she's made up her mind that something must be done, there is very little that can stop her."

Alphys frowned. "What's your story?"

I eyed her for a moment and sighed. "The Sans and Papyrus you know are the sons of your predecessor, W.D. Gaster. Me and my Papyrus **are** W.D. Gaster. When he fell in the Core, he split into two beings. We both exist as two halves of the same whole that have become, over time, completely distinct and separate individuals." I held up my right hand, staring at the hole. "I remember all of the research, but I have none of the drive to pursue it. Papyrus remembers nothing but has all of our collective drive and enthusiasm." I smiled wryly, hand falling to my jacket pocket. I had worked so hard for so long to put us back into one piece that I hadn't realized we'd become two different people until Frisk had pointed it out.

"You mentioned a Time Machine. I didn't know Sans had a Time Machine."

"Every Sans has a time machine. Each and everyone of us builds it in the hopes of returning to the past and fixing it. It never works."

"You're awfully free with the information," she observed.

I gave her a wry smile. "You won't remember it after reset."

Alphys eyes narrowed and she wiggled her nose. "What is your universe's history?"

"Chara Dreemurr was the first human to fall. He was a good and happy child. He loved his family very dearly and hoped one day to find a way to bring down the barrier. He died after a long battle with cancer. Toriel absorbed his soul and passed through the barrier in order to take him home. She was attacked by the humans there, but did not retaliate. She held on long enough to lay Chara to rest among the flowers he loved so much and came back through the barrier to die on throne room floor.

Alphys covered her mouth with her hands. "Your Tori is dead?"

I nodded. "Asgore declared war on humanity and Asriel took his mother's dust and left, going to live in the Ruins. The story from there is very similar to your own. Six human children fall and attempt to make it through the Underground, dying along the way. And then Frisk fell."

I sighed. "Like I said before, Frisk was an adult when she fell and the fall nearly killed her. Asriel found her. He'd repaired the damage but her high LV prompted him to include his own measure of insurance against harm. He wasn't going to let her die, but he wasn't going to let her hurt anyone else, so he installed C into her head. He told me later that he was rather gratified to find that her LV was not an indication of her willingness to hurt others. She'd gone up Mt. Ebott to investigate reports of missing children for her employer.

"When I first saw her, I panicked. I'd never seen LV that high before in anyone. I warned Paps to stay away from her. But, he went to capture her for Undyne anyway. When I caught up to them, I found her laughing so hard she was literally rolling on the ground. After Paps spared her, I asked her why she didn't kill him. And she looked at me like I had grown a second head. She said, 'Why on earth would I do such a thing? Your brother is the biggest Cinnamon Roll I've ever met!'"

Alphys giggled. "Hey, you want something to drink? I've got ketchup."

I leaned back and put my hands behind my head. "I'm a hot sauce kind of guy."

Alphys stood. "I've got a bottle of that. Undyne liked to use it for..." She trailed off and started crying.

I stood and hugged her. "It's okay. We can figure out what's wrong and set everything right. You won't even remember any of this ever happened. It will disappear like a bad dream and you'll be back at the beach soaking up some sun with Undyne and Frisk before you know it."

Alphys sniffed. "You mean it?"

I nodded. "We've gotten pretty good at fixing these kinds of things."

"I'll go get that hot sauce." She headed off, tears still in her eyes.

I sat down on the bed across from Frisk's and put my feet up. The GB landed on my lap and snuggled in, the light in its eyes fading to a dull glow. I figured a few winks wouldn't kill me and fell asleep.

I woke to a hard and painful crack from being thrown into a wall. I bit back a scream and looked for the idiot who needed to have a bad time. Dread consumed me when I realized I wasn't in the True Lab. I was in the lowest basement level of the Core. I saw the back of Sans blue hoodie as the door shut and the lock clicked. Alphys was cowering in a corner.

"I'm so sorry! He... He said he wouldn't hurt Mettaton if I turned you over to him!" She curled in a ball and sobbed in the corner.

"Oh Alphys," I said, feeling the rift opening inside of me. "You're not as sorry as you're going to be." The power of the Core crawled through every part of my being.

xxx

A female lizard monster stared at me with undisguised horror. Fascinating! She looked like an assistant, but not one I recognized. Never the less, my office was a complete mess. Files were every where like someone had thrown a fit in the room. Very unbecoming.

"Assistant, why is my office in shambles?"

The lizard woman shook her head like she didn't understand what I had said. Ah, she was new then. Understandable. A light sparked in her eyes and she grabbed my hand.

"Dr. Gaster! There's an intruder in the Core! He's hooked a human child up to a machine in the energy unit!"

I smelled a lie, but it did explain the mess. A human child? The only human child in the Underground was Prince Chara. I grabbed her arm. "Come with me."

There was a crackling hiss from my collar. I was wearing the most unusual jacket. I quite liked it, though it wasn't very practical for my work.

A voice came through. "Bones! Where are you?"

A thrum went up my spine. A very pleasurable sensation. Dark and warm. Who owned this voice?

The lizard woman stood on her tip toes to speak into the tiny receiver. "Bones isn't here right now."

"Great. Just great. Every time we go to the Core basement," the voice huffed.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"Your favorite test subject."

Oh? She understood me! Very interesting.

"Listen, Dr. Gaster, there's a short skeleton monster in a blue hoodie in the Core. He's hooked a young girl and myself into a broken time machine in the energy unit. I can get the both of us out, but I can't counter act the skeleton's blue magic if he comes back. So the faster you get over here, the sooner we can get this mess cleaned up, and back to your experiments."

"We shall be there shortly."

Disabling the door lock, I strode out the office, the assistant on my heels. We reached the energy unit without running into the intruder. An adult human woman was helping an injured human girl out of a machine she'd been hooked into. I knew, without understanding why, that the woman was the owner of the voice that I found so... enjoyable. She was wearing the same curious jacket that I was wearing. I found that uniquely satisfying. She held the girl in her arms gently, like a mother holding a child. The scene was pleasing in a distinct way. When she turned toward me, I reached out and touched her face, and she accepted my touch as if it were a completely normal gesture. She smiled warmly at me, and passed the girl into my arms.

Lightning quick, she grabbed the assistant by the throat and lifted her with one hand. An intensely strong female. Very well trained. Expression quite terrifying. Such a seemingly large contradiction from just a moment ago.

"C? You have 30 seconds to explain to me why I shouldn't beat the crap out of Alphys. I know I passed out on my own from exhaustion, but that doesn't explain why I'm now in the Core."

A red hologram flared to life on her shoulder taking the shape of Prince Chara. Very interesting.

"When Alphys went to find hot sauce for Bones, she ran into her Sans. Who threatened to kill Mettaton if the two of you weren't turned over."

She dropped the lizard woman, Alphys was it?, to the floor.

"So typical. I was worried that portal would cost us and it seems it has." She groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Just find my equipment bag."

Alphys ran off. The woman turned to me and smiled at the girl in my arms. She pushed the girl's hair from her face and the resemblance was uncanny. "This is you? No," I corrected, "This is a version of you."

She looked at me. "Correct, Doctor."

I shifted the girl to one arm and took the woman's hand in mine. "You said you were my favorite test subject, but I don't remember such a fascinating individual. If you would be so kind as to relieve me of my confusion, I would be very happy to explore how you would be a... favorite of mine." I lifted her hand to my face, nuzzling her fingers.

The hologram Prince Chara thew his hands up in the air. "Why does he always hit on you when he's like this?!"

The woman sighed and the warm smile she gave me made my knees a bit weak. So very interesting that a complete stranger had this effect on me. Then again, I had never been anything but entirely honest and forward with my feelings. I would make for a poor scientist if I were not.

"Because he isn't afraid of my rejection like this." She pulled her hand from mine slowly, letting the tips of her fingers gently graze my chin. "I'm Frisk, and the way you are now, we haven't met yet. Well... Not in this universe. You seem only able to remember me in our own timeline and not in another."

"The way I am now? An interesting way to phrase it, don't you think? I can tell that I am not exactly myself. I am too short. I am dressed inappropriately for lab work of any kind. A strange person is using my greatest creation for his own purposes. And I am rather... _inspired_ by the presence of human woman that I have no memory of. But instinct tells me that I should simply follow your lead. Tell me more about this girl."

"She is a version of me. She's the key to breaking the Barrier and she desperately needs our help."

"Can she really break the Barrier?"

"She already has, but something has gone wrong. When she comes around, I'll be able to find out what happened to get her in so much trouble."

Alphys came back in the room with a back pack. "I found it, but it looks like Sans was digging through it."

Frisk nodded and looked through the bag. "Not surprising." She emptied an unusual array of things from the bag. Finding smelling salts and a piece of Monster Candy, she revived the girl and fed her the candy.

"Hostile coming down the hallway," the hologram said.

"Of course." Frisk shoved everything back into the bag.

"He took your gun," the hologram said.

"It was loaded with hard foam and I doubt he'd use it, so, no worries. I keep the dissolvent in my coat pocket." She looked to me. "Will you carry her, please? We need to leave."

I nodded once.

"Thank you." Frisk shouldered the bag. "Alphys, get on the right side of the door, Doctor, on the left. Let Sans come in right past both of you and exit. I'll keep him busy while you two get her out of here."

"Where do you want us to go?" I asked.

"Snowdin."

Alphys looked between Frisk and I. "Will he be all right?"

"As soon as you leave the Core, yes."

So if I leave the Core, my confusion would abate. Why was that?

"Hostile at door," the hologram said. "You have ten, Frisk."

"Ready."

My questions would have to wait. The safety of the girl in my arms being the primary concern. Blue light encased the door. It crumpled and ripped from its hinges. Frisk darted forward, incredibly fast, and grabbed the small skeleton monster by the arm. In the blink of an eye, he was flying through the air across the room. Holding the girl tightly, I ran, Alphys on my heels. When we came to the elevator at the end of the hall way, I grabbed the lizard woman by the collar and pulled her into the emergency stairs. With a burst of blue magic, I had us at to ground level. We stepped out of the Core.

xxx

I stopped dead and nearly fell. A pre-teen Frisk in bad shape was clinging to me for dear life. I looked back at the Core.

Alphys grabbed my sleeve. "Come on! We have to get to Snowdin!"

I followed Alphys to Hotland and we hitched a ride on the Riverperson's boat to Snowdin. We ran for the house and stopped dead when we saw lights on inside. I peeked in a side window and saw Frisk sitting on the couch, eating a plate of spaghetti, while Sans lay in a heap on the floor.

"How did she..." Alphys trailed off.

"I have no idea how she does that." I opened the door and went in. The Frisk in my arms whimpered against me. "Hey. It's okay. Promise."

"Sketties are in the kitchen," Frisk said between bites. She toed Sans. "You want any big guy?" He didn't move. "Nah. I didn't think so." She slurped a noodle.

"Is he okay?" the Frisk in my arms whispered. She pushed out of my arms and fell, crawling to get to him.

"He's fine. Just unconscious. Sit down and eat. We need to know what happened so we can fix it."

The girl sat down next to Sans and gently touched his head. I sat down next to Frisk.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"How bad was it this time?"

"You were quite helpful."

"Did I do anything embarrassing?"

"Embarrassing? You never do anything embarrassing."

"You know what I mean!"

She smiled. "Do you really want to know?"

I sighed. "I guess not. How'd you get here so fast?"

She finished a bite of noodle before answering. "Apparently, joint locks make for great short cuts."

Alphys brought a plate of spaghetti for her Frisk and sat down on the floor to eat one herself, careful not to look at anyone. "This is good," she mumbled.

"Thank you." Frisk put her plate down. "It's okay, Alphys. I forgive you. You've always been the kind of person who will protect her closest friends even if it means destroying yourself." She looked at the teenage version of herself. "Okay, kiddo. Spill."

Sans stirred but remained on the floor, silent.

The Frisk sitting on the floor hadn't touched the spaghetti, she was still too busy petting Sans' head. "I wasn't strong enough to fight Chara. I tried, but, he killed everyone. Over and over. Nothing I did was enough and when he offered me the chance to save everyone in exchange for my soul, I took it."

"So how did you make it to the surface?"

"Chara just wanted me to see what it would look like if I had won."

"I apologize for every other version of me being a complete asshole," C said.

She pulled her knees to her chest. "He reset but left Sans memories completely intact. That's why he's so mad at me. He thinks I did it all! He wouldn't listen!" She put her head to her knees and cried softly. "I can't do anything to fix this! I can't save! I can't reset! I'm not strong enough! I never was!"

My Frisk sat down next to her and took her shoulders. "Hey. Look at me."

The girl sniffed and looked up.

"Every Frisk is exactly who they need to be to save their friends. Every single one. Without fail. You do have what it takes. We're going to get your reset back." She looked at me.

"Oh no," I shook my head. "No, no, no, no, no."

"She's lost her reset, Bones. It's the only way. Is it really that bad to be Gaster?"

"Twice in one day sucks, but I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about _her_."

" _She's_ the only one who can fix this."

Sans sat up finally. "Who is _she_?" His Frisk rounded mine to hide and, to his credit, he flinched.

My Frisk raised an eye brow. "Welcome to the conversation. The Fase Real Intelligence System Kore. It's the Frisk from a universe where the barrier is technological in nature, not magical. She's an A.I. built by that universe's Dr. Gaster."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "And she's the scariest Frisk out there."

Sans pointed at my Frisk.

"She's the most bad ass, not the scariest."

"I doubt a computer program is scarier than someone who can throw me across a room as soon as look at me."

"If you're feeling neglected, I can beat the shit out of you again," she said.

"Pass."

"Sure. But you don't get to pass on this." Frisk put her arm around her teenage self. "A believe you have something you need to say to the girl who sold her soul for you."

The girl was staring at the ground, not even willing to look up.

Sans had the decency to look sheepish. "Can I, uh, have a minute alone with the kiddo?"

Frisk looked at her. "You okay with that?" She nodded and the rest of us retreated from the house. Frisk and I stood on either side of the front window to keep an eye on them. It didn't take long before the teen hugged him in forgiveness.

"Well, I guess all we have to do now is get to-"

I stopped and looked around. Frisk and I were standing in the snowy forest outside of Snowdin and the GB was rolling in the snow.

Frisk whistled long and low. "Chara."

I nodded. Reset. Ugh. "But at least we know what we need to do."

Frisk pulled out her phone and dialed. "Asriel? I need package Delta."

"Incoming projectiles. Hit the ground!" C yelled. We fell to the snow, several bones flying over our heads.

The goat prince's voice came over the phone. "Package Delta deployed." A box landed in front of me and popped open to reveal a briefcase. I grabbed it with one hand, while readying myself to jump up.

C yelled, "Now!"

Frisk jumped up first and made a straight dash for Sans. The GB flanking her right and firing blasts to cut through the bone clutter.

"Left!"

Frisk rolled around a tree to her left, a line of bones missing her by a hair.

"Right!"

Frisk dodged set of GB blasts from Sans.

"Climb!"

She scaled the tree in front of her in a few seconds and dived toward the skeleton, smashing him into the ground with a roll. Her soul turned blue and I cut out the magic before he could throw her. She landed sitting on his pelvis.

"Behind. Catch-able."

Frisk reached back and picked the bone flying toward her head out of the air. Snapping it in half, she shoved the broken ends through the blue hoodie and into the ground. She grabbed the front of Sans turtle neck while I caught up to them.

"I'd settle down, before you go through all that HP you've saved up by sleeping so much," Frisk said.

"Where's the kid? What did you do with her?" he demanded.

Frisk and I looked at each other. "She's not with you?"

"She disappeared just after coming out of the Ruins like a bat outta Hell, and then you two showed up."

"What were you going to do to her?"

He looked confused. "Do? The kid reset. I meet her at the bridge. Seriously, what dafug? It's routine."

Frisk pulled the bones she used as stakes out of the ground so he could get up. "She didn't reset. Chara did. What's the last thing you remember?"

He sat up. "Papyrus and I were eating dinner with Tori and then I was at the guard station down the way. Who are you two? I mean, besides an older Frisk and..." He gave me a good hard look. "Yeah. I'm not sure what you are."

"We're from another universe. Gaster's your dad, right?" I asked.

Sans nodded.

"I am half of him. My Paps is the other half."

"Not sure how I feel about you being me and dad at the same time."

I shoved my free hand in my pocket. "Yeah, I get cha."

"So, what's going on? What's up with the reset? Who's Chara?"

"Chara's the surviving soul of an evil human that's possessing your Frisk. In order to save your world from being completely erased, Frisk sold her soul, and by extension the power of her Determination, to him."

"Crap. I knew something was up with the kid, but she never said anything. I take it you guys are here to fix it."

I nodded.

"So how does that work?"

"There's a hidden room between your sentry post in Waterfall and Undyne's place. We can access the very nature of your world and get Frisk her Determination back," Frisk said.

Sans stood up. "Then let's get started."

"That was quick," I said.

"The kid needs help and you are offering me, for the first time, a chance to really change things for the better around here. I'm not gonna sit around and let that pass."

"Strange how memory works or doesn't in these universes," C said. "We really shouldn't let him near Fase. She'll be able to see everything he's done over the resets."

Sans stopped and looked at the hologram. "I take it you guys remember something I don't."

"Yeah," I said. "It wasn't the worst we've seen, but it wasn't pretty either."

He looked utterly defeated in that moment and fell back against a tree, looking up at the sky.

My Frisk put her hand on his shoulder. "She forgave you. Just cling to that."

He took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. "Let's get to that room."

We entered Snowdin.

"Where is this smog coming from?" Frisk groaned. "Seriously. What is up with that?"

Sans looked at her. "What smog?"

"Incoming hostiles," C reported.

" _In town_?" Frisk looked around. The town was empty, but for several members of the royal guard. They were coated in head to toe in black and red. Papyrus stood in front of them, menacing in a way he never should have been.

I huffed. "Considering that we've been to Red's universe, I feel like this is stealing."

"Papyrus?" Sans stepped forward and I collared him quick.

"That's not a good idea right now. Hey, Babe? You got this?"

"Sure." She patted my GB on the snout. "Help me out, Big Guy?" It snorted happily. Frisk pulled her gun and loaded a foam clip.

Sans grabbed my Frisk's sleeve. "Don't hurt him!"

"Please. He'll be stuck in one place for a while, probably really annoyed, but otherwise just fine. Well, being hit by one of these things does sting." She fired a shot, catching Papyrus in the chest, encasing him in hard foam, and knocking him down. "See? He'll be fine. See you guys at the door!" She took off toward the guards.

My comm buzzed to life as I dragged Sans with me to short cut to the sentry post on the way to Waterfall.

"On track to attack," C said, "Focus target left. His knees are vulnerable." A scream cut through the transmission. "Focus target forward. Arm does not appear fully healed from injury."

Yells and a few screams continued to intersperse C's instructions. A red light flashed next to my collar and C appeared on my shoulder. "That's new."

"I asked Asriel to have a projector and memory core inserted in your comm last time it was upgraded. And you'll need me to open the doorway. Frisk is already on her way here."

A door appeared in the wall.

"Done." C blinked out.

"Should we wait for her?" Sans asked.

"Yeah. I'll become useless the moment I walk through that door. I take that back. I might become very useful, but really annoying." I looked at him. "Do me a solid? When we go inside don't leave me alone with Frisk. I'll become dad when I walk in there and he _really_ likes her."

Sans shook his head. " _You_ really like her. You just don't want to admit it."

" _Excuse me_?"

He held up his hands. "Hey, buddy. Calm down." He put his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the wall. "I knew there were other Sans-es. And I figured that each of us would be different based on what ever each particular Frisk needed. My Frisk? She needs an older brother. Someone who watches her back and handles the bullies. But your Frisk ain't no kiddo who needs a pal or a brother or a father. She strikes me as someone who needs a true partner. Don't shirk that role, buddy. You've seen what it meant because I shirked mine. And I'm willing to bet that most, if not all, of the worlds that you needed to fix had problems because Sans didn't hold up his end of the deal."

I sighed and looked up at sky. I'd always wondered how there was starlight here. Stalactites shining on high, maybe? Luminous moss? Whatever.

"I got the time machine to work," I said.

"Shit. No way."

"Just once. Test run. It didn't go to the past though. It flashed to the future." I pulled out a photograph I kept hidden in an interior pocket of my jacket and handed it to him. "This is what popped out of the machine."

Sans looked at it. "You look real happy, bud." He handed the photo back and I tucked it away. "Don't screw that up."

I gritted my teeth. "No pressure".

Frisk ran down the path toward us, looking deliriously happy. My GB flew along next to her, happily swinging back and forth.

"What is it about beating the shit out of people that gives you such a rush?"

"Oh please. I love being me!" She took the case. "Ready?"

"Am I ever?"

"No. Probably not. Good thing I know how to work with the good Doctor." She opened the door to a long, blank hallway. At the end was a singular room and sitting in the middle was a sleeping W.D. Gaster.

"Dad?" Sans whispered. Gaster opened his eyes, completely shocked, before he faded away. Sans sat down suddenly, huddling in his hoodie.

I waited for the inevitable pull and it didn't come. "We're in the right place, right? He was here. This is the spot. Why am I still normal?"

Frisk looked around the room suspiciously. "Let's see if Fase can tell us what's happening." She opened the briefcase and set a small box on the floor in the middle of the room. She pressed a button on the top and stepped back. The box began to unfold itself, becoming a platform, building upwards. Multiple parts shifted, moved together to create the form of a child, a metal doll permanently connected to a machine by a large number of bars and wires. What passed for eyes on it started to glow.

"Initiating start up sequence."

Sans pulled himself to his feet next to me, his eye unconsciously glowing. I knew the look. I'd seen it on myself. Something deeply fascinating was happening in front of him and the scientist buried in each of us was clawing it's way past his depression.

"Online." The head turned slightly. "Hello, Frisk! Hello, Father! How very nice to see you both again."

" _You_ made it?" Sans looked up at me.

"Oh no! The Dr. Gaster of a completely different universe made me. I am merely recognizing his familial relationship to me."

I looked down at Sans. "Don't question it. It's logical to her and it's not worth correcting."

It looked at Sans. "You have brought my brother along. It pleases me greatly to see you, Sans! I hope that your universe's disrepair is not causing you undue stress."

"I'm... good."

"Excellent." Fase adjusted in its apparatus, a movement that looked incredibly uncomfortable. "What is this universe's specific problem?"

"Frisk sold her soul to Chara and lost her Determination. I'm pretty sure Chara's running around out there in his stolen body. He's reset on us once already," Frisk said.

"Not ideal. Accessing primary-" The glowing eyes flared. "I am unable to access this universe's core data."

"Oh no," Frisk breathed.

"Where do we need to take you?" I asked.

"No where. The interface is mobile." Its head turned toward Sans. "Did Father experiment on you?"

Sans nodded. "Yeah."

"Please step forward."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, putting my arm out to stop him. Sans pushed my arm aside and walked up to the machine.

Fase reached out with one hand to touch Sans skull. "Why would I ever hurt my brother?" The fingers turned into long mechanical tendrils reaching in his eye sockets. Sans stayed put, body jerking involuntarily as Fase filled him. Its eyes turned red. "Oh, that would be why I'd hurt him."

"Don't you dare!" Frisk yelled.

"I have no intention of harming a universe's core data well. It would collapse on and kill us."

"Well, I think we've just found a Sans stranger than me." I looked at Frisk. "I wonder what dad was up to with him?"

"It explains why you didn't become Gaster when we came in the room. Everything is localized." Frisk turned to Fase. "Kill the reset before Chara can use it."

"Done. Frisk's saves have been restored."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Great."

"I am having trouble locating and erasing Chara's data. As I make corrections, he leaves more changes."

"So you need him distracted. I can handle that," I said. "Where's he located?"

"The True Lab. Please be careful with Frisk's body."

"I've got that." I touched Sans shoulder. "You okay?"

"Oh, he cannot hear you right now. He's talking to Father."

"Okay. That's it. I've officially hit my limit on weird for the day." I unzipped Frisk's back pack, took a few things out, stashed them in my jacket and jean pockets, and zipped the bag back up. "See you in a bit, Babe." I walked down the hall.

"Be careful," Frisk whispered.

I stopped and turned, arms out. "Hey. It's me."

I stepped out the door and short cut to the True Lab. The amalgamate Mrs. Snowdrake languished in a corner of the cold room. I knelt behind a fridge and listened carefully. I heard a pounding noise in the next room and headed for the DT Extraction Machine. A possessed pre-teen Frisk was angrily beating at the console.

"So that's how you've been altering the world. I'll have to remember that the DT Extraction Machine can be modified to do that. If you're done making a mess, kid. I've got something better for you to do."

A face with red eyes turned toward me. Chara pulled out a knife. He rushed at me and I dodged. "Aren't you tired of this, Sans? Always fighting me?"

"Always fighting you? You're laboring under the delusion that my Frisk has reset."

Chara frowned deeply.

"And she hasn't. Not once. You see, there's no demon child where I come from. Prince Chara was a pretty sweet kid. And Asriel didn't die going through the barrier, so there isn't a Flowey either." I grinned, big and mean. "It would take a whole hell of a lot to convince her to do something so unnecessary as resetting. Especially when she uses her save before every mission."

Chara started slowly backing up.

"I'm sure you remember when my Frisk said that every Frisk was uniquely suited to save their friends. Well, every Sans is uniquely suited to be the friend and ally Frisk needs to complete their journey. My Frisk is a bit of a bad ass. Guess what that makes me?"

Chara ran.

"Oh. Don't run." I cut right in front of him and he bounced off my rib cage. "Running never works."

He slashed at me and I dodged. "Too slow." He swung again and I let him hit the ground with the follow through. "I train every day to do this sort of thing. You're just a punk running around in a stolen body. And that body has not had a decent meal or night's sleep in quite a while."

Chara scrambled to his feet and ran for the nearest door. I smelled a trap and cut past it rather than followed. My instinct served me well as a trap dropped a heavy bed from the ceiling next to the doorway, crumpling it. Chara screamed in frustration and shoved a crate filled with large ball bearings to the floor. One rolled to my foot and I kicked it upward, grabbing it out of the air. I threw it at Chara's legs, catching him in the back of the knee as he ran. He crashed to the floor, howling in pain.

My eye flared to life, turning him blue, and lifting him off the floor. Pulling my gun from the holster under my jacket, I shot him square in the chest. He let out another scream as the foam hardened around him.

"Man, kid. If looks could kill, I'd be dead."

Chara growled.

"What? Did I break your funny bone?"

C flared to life on my shoulder. "That was terrible."

I shrugged.

"Fase has finished."

"I'll head back after I get this little twerp healed up."

C blinked out.

"I didn't think anyone could glare that hard." I shoved a piece of monster candy in the kid's mouth. He swallowed it and Frisk's knee knit back together. I took a hold of the foam and smacked the kid hard enough to knock him out. "Sorry, but you don't get to see the super secret room." I ported us back to the door and went in.

Fase was still _in_ Sans. I shuddered. "Can you pull Chara out of Frisk?"

"Altering the last value... now." Fase pulled back from Sans slowly, letting him sink to the floor. Without understanding how, Fase looked exhausted. "Thank you for distracting him, Father. I am shutting down this interface now. Spreading myself across so many universes is... taxing." Its eyes went dark and the entire apparatus folded and closed in on itself. Frisk picked up the cube and put it back in the briefcase. I pulled a dissolvent from my pocket and poured it on foam. Parts of it liquefied and chunks of foam fell away from her body. I pulled a smelling salt out of another pocket and revived the girl. She sat up stiffly, looked around, and then jumped toward her Sans hugging him fiercely.

Frisk knelt in front of them. "You're all set, kiddo. Your saves and your reset are back."

She closed her eyes tight and the Reset button appeared in front of her. She opened an eye to look and sighed in relief when she saw it. She looked at Sans.

"Go ahead, kid."

Her face fell. "But what about Chara?"

Sans put an arm around her. "I had a nice long talk with someone about that. You let me handle that and just concentrate on getting us out of this hole."

She looked up at us. "Thank you!"

I shrugged. "Just doin' my job."

Frisk stood and I put my arm around her. The GB snuggled in close to us and I took us home. Just as the darkness was about to over take us, I saw them press the reset button together.

We landed just outside the equipment room where we started. Asriel came out of the lab and collected the briefcase. "All good?"

I nodded and yawned. "How long where we gone?"

"Thirteen hours. Enough time for you guys to get showered up and join everyone for dinner. Blue will debrief you both after you've had some sleep." The goat prince headed back to his lab.

Frisk trudged toward the stairs. She stopped with her hand on the railing. "What was up with the smog?" She looked at me. "Were we seeing something that wasn't there?"

I sighed and leaned back against the wall, hands in my pockets. "I think we were seeing a physical manifestation of Chara's influence. And I think we are going to start seeing more things like it as we take on more missions. Stepping through realities is having a marked effect on both of us. Which is probably the reason why Asriel's check ups take so long." I cocked my head to the side. "Promise me something? If you're ever pregnant, tell me way ahead of time so I don't take us through time and space."

Frisk's jaw dropped. "Pregnant? And who exactly would I be sleeping with for that to happen?"

I smiled. "You could always go to the 'Bone Zone." Her back pack hit me square in the face.


	2. Ep 2 - Family Matter

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans(our lovely narrator) is the creation of Borurou. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

1\. After a long discussion about a possible interconnected story arc with the hubby, I realized I had enough material to really do something substantial here. So the one shot will turn into something longer. But, instead of chapters I will do episodes that drop hints to the larger story line until I tie it into completion.

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, suicide, and one reference to drinking alcohol. Two f-bombs are dropped in this fic.

3\. Anyone who can identify where St. Canard City comes from gets MASSIVE geek cred.

Ep. 2: Family Matter

"Where's Frisk?"

Papyrus looked up from breakfast. "GOOD MORNING, MY BROTHER! TODAY IS HER DAY OFF. I BELIEVE METTATON TOOK HER SHOPPING."

Oh yeah. Right. She'd even reminded me yesterday. I looked at the text. Fuck. I dialed Blue as I headed out of the kitchen toward the equipment room.

"*well if it isn't the big bone himself. i never get a clava-call back from you."

"Frisk's off today. What's the deal?" I opened the equipment room and eyed the shelves.

"*anomalous reset. i've notified that universe's sans to keep an eye socket out for ya."

"Any other details?" I asked as I grabbed my pack from the shelf and shouldered it.

"*yeah. since your frisk is out, i'm sending white and his frisk with you. pick them up before hopping over."

White. Figured. "Anything else you want to ruin my day with?"

"*just get ready for the equations, bud."

Fase's voice of creepy doom filled my ear and I closed my eyes, memorizing the numbers and letters falling from its non-existent lips. When it stopped, the phone cut leaving a mathematical buzz roaming my mind. I stepped into the hall and closed the equipment room door.

"Hey, C? Do you want to come along today?"

A red hologram of Prince Chara burst to life on my shoulder. "Of course. I like missions way more than I like listening to Mettaton talk. Just remember that I don't have full function away from Frisk."

"No worries." I whistled and two GBs flew down the hall and I ducked their attempt to tackle me. "Come on, guys. Shape up." They both snorted and leaned together to make it easier for me to transport them. I looked into the rift and solved the first set of equations. We landed in White's living room.

"SANS! FRISK! BONES IS HERE!" Papyrus picked me up and gave me a big hug.

"Hey, Papyrus. Good to see you too." He set me down just as Frisk came in with his pack on his shoulder. "Hey, kiddo. Congrats on graduating."

He sat down to pull on his boots. "Thanks, man. Last semester sucked though. I should never have scheduled all those poli-sci and language classes together."

"Well, you won't have to do it again, provided you haven't decided on grad school."

Frisk shook his head. "Nah. Not yet anyway. I've already been offered diplomatic relations jobs by six different countries. Before I decide on one, I want to visit your Frisk for more martial arts training." He checked his laces and stood to pet the GBs. They both vibrated excitedly from the affection.

White came in from the garage with a bag full of food for himself and Frisk. "Hey, Bones."

"White." I know that there are millions of iterations of Sans-es, and several of them are human, but White was singular. In White's time line, humans who had sided with the monsters during the war were trapped underground with them. As monsters far out lived humans, their numbers dwindled. The Gaster family were the last surviving humans until the accident that felled W.D. Gaster turned his son Papyrus into a living skeleton, and trapped Sans eternally at the same age. When Prince Asriel died and war was declared on humans anew, he donned a skeleton mask and took Papyrus to Snowdin, the furthest he could possibly get from the capital.

He was white haired and translucent pale from generations of humans breeding without sunlight. His Frisk had been an infant boy left to die on Mt. Ebott. But instead of being bullied by Flowey, the flower wrapped the child up and left him at the sentry station outside the Ruins. Sans and Papyrus raised the kid as their youngest brother.

White was also smoking hot. I was not too proud to admit that.

He dropped the bag inside his pack. "Come on, bud. She's not here. You can tone it down. We all acknowledge that you're the 'Alpha Male Sans,' okay?"

Frisk looked over his shoulder at us. "Are there any female Sans-es?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I have yet to meet one."

White pulled on his hoodie and back pack. "Ready?"

I held out my right hand. Frisk grabbed a GB with one hand and my wrist with the other. White grabbed the other GB and put a hand further up my arm. I solved the other half of the equation set and landed us in Snowdin. By the decorations and festive lights, we'd hit Christmas time in this universe. A Sans was waiting for us next to Grillby's.

"Well, Frisk, ask and you shall receive! This would be a female Sans."

"How can you tell?"

White and I both looked at him.

"Okay," White started, "I know it's all vogue to say that you can't tell a person's gender, racial make up, and other important facts from the skeleton, but you know that's a load of supremely unscientific crap! I raised you better!"

Frisk held up both hands. "I know that! I was being serious! I mean, it just looks like Blue to me."

"Are you saying we all look alike?" Sans asked.

Frisk ducked behind his older brother. "Oh shit! She sounds like Tex from Red versus Blue!"

"Calm down, kid. I'm not the most dominate predator in history."

White looked at me. "That would be your Frisk."

I sighed and it came out a hiss. "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaah."

"At least you didn't have to fight her," Frisk said.

"We've thrown down on the training floor."

"We have it on video!" C chimed in. "Totally epic!"

"How did you live?" Sans asked.

"I used the flirt option."

"You are so lucky she likes you," Sans said.

"I know. So what's the deal with you?"

She shrugged. "Not sure yet. My Frisk had other places to be. I've kept tabs on him, but haven't actually talked to him in thirty years. And then, bam, reset. I'm waiting for Alphys to tell me when he comes through the door so I can short cut over."

On cue, her phone went off. "Hey, Alphys. What? You're sure? Okay. Thanks, hon." Sans put her phone away. "A girl just came out of the Ruins."

We all looked at each other.

I blew out a breath long and slow while I thought. "Okay. White, you and Frisk check out exactly how far back the reset has actually gone. Sans, you run the routine. I'm gonna keep an eye socket on ya from the woods in case you need back up."

Watching in the woods, a young girl of about ten years old shivered as she walked down the snowy path. She stopped at the bridge as Sans walked up to her, following the routine.

"Don't you know how to greet a new-"

"Sans? Are you Sans?" The girl grabbed Sans' hoodie. "My daddy's in trouble! You have to help him!"

Sans knelt down to look the girl in the eyes. "What's your name, kiddo?"

She sniffed, tears in her eyes. "Victoria. Daddy calls me Tori."

Sans ruffled her hair. "I bet he does." She pulled off her hoodie and put it around Tori's shoulders. "Let's get you someplace warm and then you can tell me what's up with your dad."

The girl sniffed again and nodded. Sans glanced over at me and I nodded before short cutting back to Snowdin. White and Frisk were waiting inside the house.

"What've you got?" Frisk asked.

"It looks like this world's Frisk figured out how to insert his kid into his reset. What's the deal on the date?"

White held up his phone and the stream of Undernet posts. "According to this, there hasn't been a reset. Today is the day it's supposed to be. This isn't a reset at all."

"Any hypotheses?"

"Yeah. This world's Frisk has figured out how to manipulate saves."

Frisk looked between us. "But why? Why not just reset if things are going to hell?"

Sans came in the door with Tori.

"That's why," I said, "Resetting means erasing her."

The girl stared at Frisk. "Dad?"

Frisk shook his head. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm not your dad, but we are here to help him."

She sniffed and looked at her feet. "Can I hug you anyway?"

Frisk picked her up and hugged her tight. "Everything is going to be okay, promise. Here." He shifted her to one arm. "This is White. He's my eldest brother. This is Bones. My brother and I help him fix problems in time."

"So you're like the Doctor?"

I chuckled. "I don't have a sonic screwdriver, kiddo. Can you tell us what's happening to your dad?"

She sniffed and tears welled in her eyes. "This guy who looked like my dad showed up and hurt mommy. And then he chased me and Dad. Dad told me to close my eyes and he would send me somewhere safe. He told me to find a skeleton monster named Sans and then I was talking to a flower."

"Did the flower hurt you?" I asked.

"No. He looked really confused and told me to follow the path to see the goat lady."

I opened the back door and looked for a yellow flower. Flowey was sitting outside the door.

"You aren't my Sans."

"Nope. You want to add to our conversation?"

The flower disappeared and reappeared in the living room. "Frisk accessed my save." He looked at the ground. "I'm not sure how, but he opened my save and put his little girl in it." He looked at Sans. "You are simultaneously here and on the surface."

We all looked at Sans. She looked at Flowey. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know." He looked around. "You aren't really here right now. None of you are. Well... I mean... The two weird Sans, Frisk, and little Victoria are here. Everyone else is still on the surface."

Sans whistled through her teeth. "So I'm a memory?"

"Maybe? I don't know. I don't know what Frisk did."

"Tori, do you know where you and your dad were before you saw Flowey?" White asked.

She hugged Frisk tightly. "We were hiding in the Riesler building."

"Tori-honey, you stay here with Sans," I said. "Don your masks, guys. We're heading to the surface."

Frisk put Victoria down and patted her head. "Just wait here. Everything will be okay."

White put on his skull mask and held out his hand. "I know a short cut." Frisk and I grabbed his arm and when reality came back together, we were standing outside the door to the throne room.

Frisk took a peak inside. "Clear."

We made for the barrier and found it open. We passed through to the surface and made for the Riesler building, my GBs floating behind us silently. It was a huge building in the downtown section of St. Canard City and used almost exclusively by monsters in most universes for various purposes. For mid afternoon, the building was ominously empty.

C burst to life on my shoulder and looked around. "The floor is coated in a very fine dust."

"We're trying not to notice that, C," White gritted out.

A blue spear came at us from around the corner and Frisk grabbed it out of the air. "Hey, Undyne."

The former head of the royal guard took a quick look around the corner at us and then came out, another spear ready. "What the hell am I looking at?"

"I'm Bones. This is White and his little brother Frisk."

"You aren't the Frisk I know. In fact, a second Frisk just showed up and started killing monsters." She slammed her spear against the floor and a volley of blue spears came at us.

Frisk stepped forward and spun the spear in his hand around to block the projectiles. "I grant that our timing is bad, but we aren't your enemies." He blocked another volley. "We came to help you." A spear got past him and cut his left arm. White's left eye lit blue. Frisk waved him off. "That all you got, Sushi Roll?"

The next volley came fast and erratic. White and I both held up our left hands and the spears hit the floor. Frisk rushed her, tackling her to the floor and putting the spear to her throat.

"Your Frisk is about 38 years old, married, and has a little girl. That little girl has been safeguarded away in the underground. I really don't want to fight you, but I won't hesitate to incapacitate you if you're going to be a pain in the ass."

"Don't _ever_ call me 'Sushi Roll' again."

Frisk had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry. It's what I call my Undyne." He pulled the spear back.

"Your Undyne? There's more than one of me?"

"Yeah." He offered her a hand and helped her up. "And every single one is a tough as nails, bad ass." He smiled at her, super big.

A smile tugged at her lips and she ruffled his hair. "The second Frisk looks a bit older than you. He's somewhere in the building."

"Is there a security room for the cameras?" I asked.

"Yeah. But the electricity was cut a while ago." Her eyes narrowed at me. "Why am I scared of you?" She shivered and rubbed a bare spot in the scales on her arm.

White and I looked at each other. "I don't know," I lied. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. I'm sure if I was in the Core I'd know damn well what this world's Gaster had done to her.

"What's that on your shoulder?"

"A hologram projection of my version of Prince Chara Dreemurr."

"The fallen child." She looked at White. "Do you guys have a plan?"

White looked around. "Well, if this is anything like my place, there are two main exits, and three emergency exits attached to stair wells, all leaving the ground floor. Let's each take an emergency stairs and clear the first four floors."

"This floor is clear," Undyne said. "I was waiting down here hoping to catch the impostor as he came back down."

"Who else is in the building?"

"Asgore, Sans, and my Frisk. But I don't know where they are in the building. I left Asgore on the 5th floor."

"If your Frisk is smart, he's hiding, which will keep the impostor from leaving the building," I said. "Let's clear floors 2-5." I turned to Undyne. "You okay with staying here?"

"Yeah."

"If the impostor comes down, only take him alive if you think he's damaged enough to capture."

"You're a little cold."

I smirked. "You should see my Frisk when she's pissed."

"She?"

I winked my left eye at Undyne. "Let's go."

We each headed for a stair well and cleared the second through fifth floors. Everywhere was a fine coating of dust. We moved to the sixth floor. Several monsters were hiding in closets and under desks.

White raised his voice. "We are the response team! Bones here will cover your exit of the building down the east emergency stairs. If you have any information about the upper floors or know how to turn the power back on for the building, we would appreciate your help."

I checked the stairwell and then let the group through. "Stay as quiet as you can. Do not run and do not pound on the stairs. Take it easy." Several of the monsters used magic to float down while the lighter footed tip toed down and out of the building. A Whimsalot and Loox stayed behind.

"I can fix the electricity," the Loox said, "But I'm no fighter. I'll need someone to go with me in case that maniac shows up again."

White nodded. "I'll go with you."

"I don't know what's happening now, but I know how we all got here," the Whimsalot said. "We were all from the upper floors. Toriel sent us a global text to go down the back stairwell and to hide on this floor."

"Tori's in the building?" White asked.

"It's a school day, so I don't think so." The Whimsalot looked confused. "I'm not sure how she knew to text us." He looked at Loox. "I'll go with you too. I'm not afraid."

White looked at Frisk and I. "Check the next floor and I'll meet you there after we get the electricity back on."

"I'll take the west stairs. You take the east. We'll meet in the middle of the floor."

Frisk nodded and we left White to the handle the electricity. The light outside the windows was starting to fade into early evening. I hoped they worked fast. The seventh floor was dustless, but a heavy breathing I knew well permeated the air. Asgore was in a back office with a bad wound, but not enough to be fatal. C blinked out before Asgore could see him.

Asgore eyed me through one heavy lidded orb, the other swollen shut. "You look like Sans, but you aren't her."

I pulled off my backpack and dug out some Monster Candy. "I'm a Sans, just not your Sans. Here." I handed him the candy. "Do you know where the impostor Frisk is?"

"Behind you."

I turned slowly. Standing in the door of the office was a male Frisk, somewhere in his late twenties, with bright brown eyes. He was languidly tossing a knife in the air and catching it, dark smile wide.

I pulled my gun from the holster hidden under my jacket.

He froze, face a mask of shock before turning, and running for it. "God Dammit! You didn't tell me they had guns! I can't dodge a fucking bullet!"

I short cut in front of him and close lined him. "And who might you be talking too?"

"Shit!" He took a swipe at my leg and I dodged the blade. My GBs let loose a massive blast at the same time, knocking him across the entire floor to slam into a support pillar with a sickening crunch. He slowly pulled himself to his knees and then dove into the back stairwell. I ran for the door as Frisk ran up from an office on his end of the floor. The electricity came back on as we hit the door at the same time. But the impostor had disappeared.

"He got away," I breathed. I turned to Frisk. He'd pulled off his skull mask. "Where were you?"

"I found this world's Frisk. He's hurt, but not too badly. He's getting some food in him now."

"I found Asgore. He's in rough shape but he'll pull through. He's in the office over there. Bring Frisk over and we'll finish getting them patched up."

This world's Frisk looked scuffed up when he limped in the office, but not too bad. A long held breath went out of him when he saw the goat king.

Asgore smiled. "Are you alright, Frisk?"

"I'm so sorry. I thought, when I went back home, that life would just go on. I didn't think anything like this would happen."

"It shouldn't have," I said. "This is an anomaly."

He looked at me. "Dr. Gaster?"

Reality vibrated for a moment and I grabbed my head. "Oh. Woah." I held up a hand. "Sans! I'm a Sans." I shook my head to clear it.

"You alright, Bones?"

I looked up at Frisk. "Don't say the G-word again. I don't know what 'dad' did in this reality, but mentioning his name is enough to shake the place up."

"Are my people safe?" Asgore asked.

"Yeah. Toriel texted everyone and directed them to hide on the floor below."

Asgore's good eye went wide. "Tori's phone broke two days ago. She hasn't replaced it yet."

Frisk and I looked at each other as our comms crackled to life. "Frisk! Bones! There was a non-human Frisk hidden among the monsters! Undyne and I have him pinned down in the lobby, but he's throwing some wicked flame magic at us. Have you seen the impostor Frisk?"

"Yeah. He escaped into the back stairwell."

"Which way did he go?"

"He disappeared. It didn't feel like a short cut. More like a save access. We found this world's Frisk and Asgore. Still no sign of Sans."

"Well, there's a save point on the tenth floor and you know exactly where we would be waiting for an ass-hat to appear." The comm went dead.

I looked at White's little brother. "He's bossy when he's mad."

Frisk smiled. "Someone is gonna have a bad time."

"Lock the door behind us and stay in here. We're going to sort this out."

"Wait!" This world's Frisk grabbed my arm. "Have you seen my little Victoria? Is she safe?"

I patted his hand. "She's in the underground. Flowey's got her hidden in the save."

He sat down next to Asgore. "Thank you."

Frisk and I ran for the east stairs. "C! I need plan of attack."

The red hologram burst to life on my shoulder. "I can only give you one based on what I know of our world's version of this building."

Frisk stopped. "Seriously?"

"I am literally installed in my Frisk's head. I don't have the ability to access wi-fi, electrical systems, or core data from the memory in Bone's comm link."

"I am never going anywhere without your Frisk again. Okay. So we have to run this blind." He pulled his skull mask back on and ran up the stairs ahead of me, the GBs following close behind. He waited at the door to the tenth floor, huffing a little. I risked a look through the door and saw a female Sans fighting the impostor and looking way too tired. Frisk and I went through the door.

Sans stopped moving, breathing labored. I used my magic to pull her out of the way of a strike. She looked up at me, confused. "Dad?"

Frisk stepped forward and the impostor stepped back. The GBs floated up next to him as his right eye glowed bright blue. "You're gonna have a bad time."

The familiar _shing_ of blue magic took hold of the impostor and Frisk threw him around the room like rag doll, banging him off every available surface before letting him hang immobile in the air to be blasted by the GBs. He dropped the impostor to the ground, broken but still alive.

"What the hell, man? Why? What's wrong with you that you have to screw with someone else's world? Wasn't destroying your own enough?!"

The brown eyes glared at him through a blood stained face. " _No_."

Undyne came onto the floor with White. She poured a pile of dust from the striped shirt she was using as a make shift bag in front of the impostor's face. "Here's your friend."

The impostor growled and slammed his fist on the ground before punching a badge on his shirt and completely disappearing.

"NO!" Undyne screamed and multiple spears slammed into the floor where his body had been.

White picked up the striped shirt and looked at the black and green badge sewn onto the front.

I pulled out my phone and called Blue. "The impostor Frisk disappeared after using a magical badge. Have Fase scan the world. See if he's gone."

Fase's voice popped on the line. "Hello, Father! I hope you are well today."

I flinched. "Not really."

"Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. Checking data. Save anomaly detected." There was a moment of silence. "Oh that's bad. He's accessed File #3."

"Son of a-!" I shoved the phone back in my pocket and grabbed both GBs. "Short cut to Snowdin! Now!" I saw White grab his brother as the world went black and color came back. I ran from Grillby's to the house. The memory Sans had a huge gash across her chest, an orange liquid pouring from her mouth and the wound. Residents of Snowdin were gathered around her. I knelt down next to her.

"You holding together?"

"Just barely." She shifted a little and grimaced. "He grabbed the kiddo and ran toward the Ruins."

White knelt next to me. "Why the Ruins? That's a dead end."

"Chara," Frisk breathed. "He's taking her to Chara's grave."

"Will you be okay?"

"I'm good, but tired, so insert a bone joke here."

We ran for the door. "If we're lucky, the door will be sealed and he'll be trapped on this side." The door was a pile of rubble. "We aren't that lucky."

We ran into Toriel's place and found the impostor on the ground, severely burned. Toriel stood over him, little Victoria behind her.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess we can always count on goat mom."

Toriel looked at us, the fire in her hand blazing higher. "Who are you?"

I held up my hands. "We're friends! We're here to stop him."

Toriel stared at my hands. "Dr. Gaster?"

My vision swam and I grabbed my head. Symbols and equations poured into my mind. I felt a smart crack to the back of my head and caught a look at the impostor. He glared at me and touched the black and green badge on his jacket.

"Wing Dings!"

I blacked out.

I woke up sitting in a comfy chair in Toriel's living room. C was sitting cross legged on my sternum. I looked over to my right. White, Frisk, and Toriel were sitting at the table, having tea.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," C said.

"Where's Victoria?"

"With her dad. They're safe. What happened to you?"

"I don't know. Something's up with this world's me."

Toriel's hand touched my shoulder. "I'm sorry my words distressed you so."

I patted her hand. "No worries, Toriel. Just avoid the G-word."

She handed me a bottle of hot sauce.

"Nice! How did you know?"

She smiled. "White told me. Though I don't know how I feel about his nacho cheese habit."

White smiled sheepishly and waved her off. "It's my condiment of choice is all."

"He puts it on _EVERYTHING_ ," Frisk said. "He put it on his spaghetti last night."

I leaned forward to get a better look at White. "You are a brave man to have done that to Paps spaghetti."

"Yeah, and I would have gotten away with it if the little runt hadn't ratted me out!"

Frisk smiled big.

"So what's the situation?"

White put down his tea cup of nacho cheese. "Waiting. Fase says the anomaly is still present. Like it's looking for something. She's trapped him in Flowey's file so he can't leave the underground. We've been chatting while waiting for you to wake up."

Toriel reached down to touch C, her hand passing through him.

"Still a hologram."

"I'm sorry, my child. I know. I just can't help myself." She looked at me. "Why would the impostor have come this way? It's a dead end."

"My guess is that he was going to use Victoria as a host for Chara's spirit and the easiest way to do that is to go to the grave."

"But my daughter is not buried in the underground. Her grave is in a cemetery on the surface."

"That's a relief," Frisk said.

"But why would such a possession benefit him? My Chara was not an evil person."

White and I looked at each other. "How did she die?" he asked.

"Old age."

"Well hot dog! I'm not the only non-douche bag Chara!" He sniffed and wiped non-existent tears from his face. "I thought I was the only one."

"Oh no, my child. Chara was a jerk. But I loved her anyway."

"My quest continues."

"No, it doesn't. You're a total jerk," I said. "If my Frisk were here, she would agree." My phone buzzed and I looked at the text.

 _*C is a total jerk_

I showed C my phone. "See? She agrees."

White threw up his hands. "How does she do that?!"

"I'm feeding her audio," C said. "And now I'm going to stop."

My phone vibrated again. "It's Blue." I accepted the call. "What have you got?"

"*nice to hear you're up, bud. the anomaly touched down in the lab. fase says that her dad did some messed up stuff in this world and it's all in the lab."

"Got it." I hung up. "The ass-hat is in the Lab."

"Language!" Toriel barked.

"My apologies." I winked at her and she blushed. How about that. "Without saying the G-word, can you tell us what he worked on the Lab?"

She started rubbing one arm. There was a tiny bare spot in the fur under her hand. "I don't remember. Maybe it was medical in nature?" She shivered suddenly.

"It's okay. We'll take it from here. Where are my pets?"

Frisk jerked a thumb toward the door. "Rolling in the leaves."

I whistled for them and they floated in, happily slinging back and forth. "Short cut to the Lab. Hopefully, the impostor hasn't hurt Alphys." White nodded and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. I grabbed both GBs and looked back at Toriel. "Thanks for the help, angel." She blushed even redder this time. I short cut to the Lab. White and Frisk were waiting for me at the door.

Frisk was laughing. "I'm telling Frisk you were flirting with another woman!"

"Go for it. She'll think it's cute."

He huffed. "Sure, just ruin my fun."

I smiled and had a listen at the door. Nothing. I tested the handle and found it unlocked.

"I smell a trap," White said.

"Cut to the second floor?"

White grabbed my sleeve. "I didn't mean on the door. I saw the way he looked at you before he disappeared again, and then he shows up at a place where dad was doing something really weird? Something's wrong and if you turn into dad while we're in here, I have a really bad feeling that Frisk and I won't be able to handle it."

"Okay. What's the plan?"

He looked at me suspiciously. "You're not arguing with me?"

"My Frisk isn't here. You can be the smart one all day long for all I care."

He shrugged in that way we all do. "Okay then."

"Can you two please stop?" Frisk asked. "It makes me really uncomfortable to watch you both get all huffy over a female version of me."

"Sorry, kiddo," we both said at the time.

"Oh My God, Sans!" He froze. "Three of you said that." He turned around slowly and this world's Sans smiled at him from where she leaned against the lab door.

"You're looking way better than last we saw you."

"That's because I'm the 'real time' Sans. The one you pulled out of the fight upstairs." She held up her phone. "Blue did something that let me get to you guys." She knocked on the door behind her with her knuckles. "You want to know what dad was up too?" She frowned. "Building a better monster." She sighed and put her hands in her pockets. "I'm sure you noticed the strange bare spots on the arms of monsters. That was the extraction/injection point. He was looking to find the right genetic combination to make a monster impervious to damage."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "He claimed it was the war, but I knew better. The whole project was madness. He wanted to see how far he could go. Undyne doesn't remember it, but she got the worst of it." She looked up at the sparkling cavern roof. "I started volunteering for the experiments just to keep everyone else safe." She looked down at her feet. "When he convinced Papyrus to be the next test subject, I shoved him in the Core."

She pulled out a bottle of duck sauce from her hoodie and chugged it before tossing the bottle aside. "I can handle dad if you get all weird in there."

"I'm not sure how I feel about having someone who fully admits to having murdered me watching my back."

"Yeah. But I bet you'd rather me than the possible harm you would do to someone else, right? We should take a short cut to the True Lab. Alphys isn't in there right now. She's over at Undyne's watching anime. So it's just the impostor, the amalgamates, and us. The amalgamates will attack if they see us. My father's experiments combined with Alphys have made them... Well, just assume the worst."

I sighed. "White, Frisk. You guys cut to the cooling fans. We'll cut to refrigeration. We'll meet in the bunk area."

White nodded and disappeared with Frisk. Sans held out her hand and I took it, the world going dark in a swirl before piecing back together. Refrigeration was quiet, but not empty. Lemon Bread was slithering along the floor. Sans pulled me back so it wouldn't catch site of us. We snuck around the back of the fridge units and slipped into the DT extraction chamber. Lemon Bread was slithering back our way. There was no way to avoid a confrontation. Sans handed me a pair of noise canceling headphones and I donned them quick.

Lemon Bread screeched and rushed us. I stepped to the side and grabbed it's arm, swinging it into the the wall. It let out a true siren cry and I jammed the headphones tight around my ear canal openings. Even still, it was completely disorienting. The GBs prepared to fire and I waved them off. I pulled a dart from my pocket and threw it, catching Lemon Bread's arm. It hissed and slowed down, suddenly dropping in a sleepy heap.

Sans pulled off her headphones. "And here I thought we were all a bunch of lazy-bones."

I shrugged. "Daily training is required. I nap the rest of the time." I quick checked the video viewing room before we went into the bunk area. Every bed was filled with a monster of some type, all of them glowing strangely.

White was kneeling next to one of the beds, having a look at the occupant. Frisk waved us over.

"It looks like the ass-hat grabbed some test subjects and activated whatever dad did to each of them," Sans said.

"Can you identify what we'll have to handle with them?" White asked.

She gathered some fallen papers and read over the contents. "He grabbed anyone who had a hatred matrix injected into them."

I knelt next to one of the beds, looking at this world's version of Dogaressa. "How is it activated?"

Dogaressa's eyes opened and glowed an ominous green.

"You know, I could almost feel that coming. Let me guess, proximity to void space?"

Sans nodded and dropped the papers as she backed away from the nine rising monsters.

"I suggest retreating!" Frisk yelled. "Grab a bed and we can use it to block the hall to the elevator!"

White and I grabbed the nearest bed, dumped the occupant, and rolled it across the floor to the hall. Flipping the bed on it's side, we wedged it into the hallway to give us some space to escape.

Frisk ran around the corner and squeaked. When the rest of us followed we found Frisk trapped against a wall with a knife to his throat.

"Get any closer and the kid dies. Now get on the horn to whoever locked me in this save to let me out."

"You have a really bad memory," Frisk said. He smiled and the familiar _shing_ of blue magic filled the air. Frisk lifted his right hand, eye glowing, and threw his double into a wall. "Did you forget that I was the one tossing you around last?" Frisk lowered his arm and slammed the impostor into the floor.

He looked up from the floor. "Nah. I didn't forget." He looked at me. "Gaster, Gaster, Gaster."

My vision swam and my head felt like it would explode. But I was ready for it this time. I put a hand on the wall and glared. "That all you got? If we were in the Core, you'd have gotten somewhere, but you cashed in your chips at the wrong location."

He slammed his fist into the floor and threw his knife at White, catching him in leg.

"No!" Frisk lifted his arm and repeatedly slammed the impostor into the ceiling.

"Stop him!" White gritted out.

I grabbed Frisk's arm. "Chill, kiddo."

Frisk's eyes carried a red shadow that faded slowly. The blue glow disappeared from the impostor's body and he fell to the floor, coughing blood. Sans created a cage of bones around the him, trapping him.

White pulled the knife out of his thigh. "Son of a-!" He sat down. "At least it didn't hit an artery. I'll need stitches though. Got any Monster Candy?"

I tossed him a piece and turned back to the impostor. "Time to spill. What the hell are you up too and how did you convince another Frisk to join you in mass murder?"

His eyes went wide. "Where am I? Sans? Is that you? What are you doing?"

"Nice try, but I've seen a lot of possessed Frisks to know when I'm fighting a Chara."

C burst to life on my shoulder. "He hangs with one everyday."

He scowled.

There was a banging on the bed wedged in the hallway. The monsters broke through, rushing into the room.

"Doctor!"

"Doctor!"

"Where's the Doctor?"

"He DID this to us!"

"Where is he?!"

The impostor chuckled. "Looks like you've got a problem."

I scowled and pulled my gun. Nine shots later and all of the monsters were stuck in hard foam. "Got anything else?"

His face went blank. He pulled a syringe from inside his sleeve and shoved the needle in his heart.

Sans removed the cage and grabbed the impostor. His body was completely limp and starting to go cold. I ripped the badge from the jacket and Sans dropped the body. I looked at the black and green badge. There was a small communication link in it and a device I couldn't figure out. I'd have Paps look at it back home.

Frisk helped his brother to stand and looked at the body. "Why did he do this?"

White looked at his brother. "You okay, kiddo?"

"Why did you stop me?"

"For the same reason I would never let Paps hurt someone. I'm the oldest. It's my job to protect you both. And killing another person harms you deeply." He tapped his brother on the head. "I know Chara lives in there. Don't ever give it a foothold."

Frisk nodded.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Blue. "Situation resolved. The impostor committed suicide."

"*that's not good. we won't be to find out what he was trying to do. or how he managed to travel across timelines."

"We have the badges that he and the non-human Frisk were using to communicate. I'll send one over to you and let Paps have a look at the other."

"*everyone all right otherwise?"

"White's hurt, but nothing some stitches and some good food won't fix. This world's Sans will need a ticket out of the save. Fase might want to keep it locked for good so the impostor's determination will only keep him here."

"*agreed. i'll debrief you all later. head on home." He hung up on me and I heard Sans' phone ring. She picked up, gave a sign-off salute, and disappeared.

I looked at the GBs. "Come on you two, huddle in close. We're going home." I held out a hand to White and he took it, hugging his brother close. After dropping them off with their Alphys for a little stitching up, I landed the GBs and I outside the equipment room. I refilled my bag before putting it back on in its place on the shelf, and trudged toward the suite Paps and I shared.

The door to Frisk's apartment was open, a soft light beckoning me from within. I pushed the door open, going in. And, just like every other time I've been here, I was a little stunned. Walking into her apartment was like walking into the most secret and concealed place in her heart. Frisk's office was spartan, her public face mission oriented, if a little brash. And even though she literally lived at work, this apartment was her private oasis, a beautiful and intensely feminine suite filled with soft comforts. When she'd first given me a key I'd felt l had won the lottery, but now it felt like a sacred bond. This was _her place_ and it was a gift that she let me have any part of it.

She was sitting on the couch in her off duty clothing, which was just as intensely feminine as her surroundings. She smiled at me when I sat next to her.

"Did you have a good day off?"

"Yeah. We took Napstablook to a vintage record shop." She set down her tea cup. "Are you okay? C filled me in. He said you blacked out."

I waved the question off. "Just something with that world's Dr. Gaster is all."

"I got you something while I was out. Well, two somethings." She pulled a bag up next to her feet.

"You didn't have to do that for me, Beautiful." She handed me a six pack of my favorite micro-brews. "You stopped over at Grillby's!" She handed me another bag. "Is this...?" I looked inside and pulled out an LP. "A Jimmy and the Mustangs album! Thanks, Babe!" I nuzzled her cheek. "You know you didn't have too."

"Go get cleaned up and we'll crash together with some MST3K."

"Feeling _bonely_ , huh?"

She smacked me with a pillow.


	3. Ep 3 - Determination

Core Issues  
by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans (our lovely narrator) is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community generated AU. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

1\. I'm not sure if this is a short story or a vocabulary lessen. I blame the highly intelligent characters.

2\. This story is rated T for language and suggestive jokes/themes.

3\. My beta reports that the scene in the Core was disturbing, which was the point. But you have been warned.

Ep. 3 - Determination

Papyrus examined the badge under the magnifying glass on his desk. He gently prodded the back with a pair of fine tip tweezers, carefully lifting the back away. Inside was a communication rig and small box. Paps tapped it lightly. He paused and set it down, moving back. He took off his glasses and sat back.

"TAKE THE TWEEZERS AND TAP THE BOX VERY LIGHTLY."

I picked up the tweezers and tapped the box. I put the tweezers down and stepped back. "Someone has figured out how to put a piece of the void in a tiny, tiny box.

Paps nodded. "I BELIEVE THAT IS THE CASE."

"How the hell did they do that?"

Papyrus leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, chin down, eyes closed. "I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT IS WHAT POWERED THEIR TRAVEL BETWEEN WORLDS."

I leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over my chest, chin down, eyes closed. "If we can replicate it, we can figure out all the things those badges are capable of."

"FIGURE OUT WHO MADE THEM."

"One badge would be an oddity. Two is an indication of something bigger."

"SO VERY INTERESTING. AND VERY WORRYING."

"We could open a rift and transfer a piece of the void into a vessel."

"WE WOULD NEED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF POWER TO DO SO."

"We don't have any souls."

"ALpHyS' DETeRMInATIoN MaTRiCEs-"

"WouLD pROVide Us WitH ThE EquATIoNS tO GEnerATE-"

"ThAt KInD Of poWER On OuR Own."

"Yo! Nerds! You're doing it again! Wake the hell up!" Undyne yelled.

I started and looked around. Paps and I stared at each other for a moment before we both looked sheepish.

"Come on. Three rookies challenged Frisk to a three on one in the training room."

I pushed off the wall. "This I gotta see." Before stepping out of the room, I looked over my shoulder at Papyrus. "fINd aN APprOPriAtE VeSseL AnD i'LL Get OuR PieCe Of VOid."

He stood, straightening his coat and adjusting his long scarf. "I SHALL JOIN YOU." He picked up his glasses and put them back on. "I dO EnJOy WaTchINg mY FAvORiTe TeSt SUbjECt aT wORk."

We both froze and then Papyrus blushed brightly. "OH DEAR! WHAT AM I SAYING?!"

"Damn." I ran a boney finger along the crack in the top of my skull. "We really need to figure this out before it gets weird." Several members of the facility's staff ran by Papyrus' workshop door. "And we need to hurry if we want good seats."

We got to the training room's observation area and Undyne had saved us some room up front. Frisk and the rookies were prepping on the training room floor.

Undyne introduced the rookies. "Agent Franklin is the man on the right. He's retired military like Frisk, but with way different training. Agent Tahoma is the short chick in the middle. She's a career archivist with some heavy martial arts training. She applied to the agency to help us archive our work. Agent Niagra is the tall guy on the left. He's retired military too. He's here to study monster biology with Asriel."

"And they want a match with Frisk?" I snorted.

"Someone told them she was the best human agent and they said they wanted to see what that meant."

"And by someone, you mean you."

"YOU ARE VERY TRANSPARENT, UNDYNE."

C's voice came over the loud speaker. "Today's training session pits Agents Tahoma, Niagra, and Franklin against Agent Serif in hand to hand combat. Good luck."

"Thanks. I won't need it," Frisk said.

"I wasn't talking to you, font-sucker."

I snorted and Papyrus blushed deeply. Undyne lost it, howling with laughter while Alphys covered her mouth, face red.

Agent Tahoma looked around. "Is that a monster joke that I just don't get?"

Frisk sighed. "That's one way to put it. And if I ever figure out how to strangle a hologram, C is a dead man."

"Agent Serif will not have the benefit of her A.I."

"You're a jerk, C!"

"Round Start."

Frisk stepped into a defensive stance and waited on the others to move. All three closed and Niagra swung first. Frisk grabbed his arm and moved him directly into Tahoma's path. Tahoma stepped to the left, letting Niagra fall. Frisk stepped on top of him, using her weight to keep him down while dodging Tahoma and Franklin's punches. Niagra pushed himself up and Frisk jumped to the side.

Niagra ran at her. She blocked his first punch, deflected the second, grabbed his leg when he kicked, and kicked him hard in the groin. His shout was cut short when Frisk pulled him toward her and body slammed him off the floor.

"Woah! You're way stronger than you look!" Tahoma exclaimed. You could see the strategy change in her face, moving to quick strikes and staying out of reach, while Franklin came up from behind. Frisk turned from Tahoma and threw a punch at Franklin, telegraphing it. He ducked and she rolled over his back, grabbing his arm, and locking his elbow. She held him in front of her as a shield against Tahoma before shoving him into her.

Niagra jumped to his feet and threw two reckless punches. Frisk dodged both and leg swept him. Franklin grabbed her when she came up, trapping her in a bear hug. She slammed her forehead off his nose, and his hold loosened enough for her to slide out. He grabbed at her again and got a kick to the gut.

Tahoma began another assault with a set of kicks. Frisk pushed them all aside and slammed her palms into Tahoma's stomach, knocking the wind from her. Franklin stepped up and before he could move, Frisk grabbed his shirt, and kneed him hard in the sternum before shoving him into Niagra.

"I wonder if they're regretting this yet," I said.

Undyne punched my shoulder. "Why don't you go down there and give them a hand? Small fry like that don't even make a work out for her."

"No."

"I'll give you the rest of the week off from training."

"It's Thursday! I'd only get one day off!"

She smiled big.

"All right. But you better hold up your end of the deal." I went over to the stairs. "C? Put me in."

"Seriously?" C appeared on the console under Alphys hands. "Alphys! Get the cameras ready!" His voice went to the speakers. "Round Complete. Point Serif. Agents Niagra, Tahoma, and Franklin retire from the floor. Reset floor for foam core scenario versus Agent Aster." The noise level rose immediately as everyone clamored to get a better look.

Agent Franklin was helping Tahoma and Niagra up when I stepped onto the floor. They stopped dead when they saw me.

I gave them a quick salute. "Take a break, guys."

Frisk checked her gun as two sets of tall pillars rose out of the ground, making a long hallway between us. "Been a while, Bones. Who convinced you to come down?"

"Undyne said she'd let me out of training tomorrow if I came down."

She smiled. Specifically the smile she'd picked up from years of hanging around Undyne.

C's voice came over the speakers. "Non-combatants, please leave the floor. Sans, you will not use Blue magic on Frisk's body. Frisk will continue to not have the benefit of an A.I. during battle."

The rookies left the floor and pushed their way to the windows by Undyne to watch. I stretched my neck while Frisk shook herself out.

"Round Start."

She dashed straight for me. My eye activated and I summoned bone walls out of the pillars in front of her. She dodged left and right, avoiding them as they came at her, still going for me. I threw a straight volley and she stopped dead to dodge each bone, before hitting the floor, rolling for cover behind a pillar. Her gun came around the corner and she fired at me one handed and blind. The first shot went wide, but I was forced to dodge the second and third.

Frisk was on me in a flash, throwing several quick strikes. I dodged quick to stay ahead of her before short cutting to the other end of the pillared hall way. She turned and fired one shot that hit me in the foot, locking me to the floor. I summoned a bone strike from the floor and she jumped, climbing a pillar to avoid it. I grabbed one of my bones out of the air and struck the foam with it, cracking it enough to be able to get my foot out just in time dodge Frisk's next strike.

I blocked several punches and knocked her gun from her hand. As it fell she kicked it, knocking it against my rib cage and up into the air. She grabbed my arm, twisted it behind my back, caught the gun, and fired into my groin twice locking my pelvis in foam before tossing me to the floor. She stood over me, gun aimed at my skull.

"Yield."

I smiled. "You might want to consider that yourself."

Frisk looked up at the array of GBs circling her from above, ready to fire. "Son of a- ! Where did you guys even come from?!" She huffed and held up her hands. "I yield."

Raucous applause erupted from the audience. She stood and pulled dissolvent from her pocket, pouring it on the foam encasing my pelvis. I pulled it apart and stood, brushing off my jeans. Undyne and Alphys came onto the floor, the rookies following behind.

Agent Tahoma ran up ahead. "That was amazing! I had know idea that monsters could do that."

"Not every monster can do that. My brother and I specialize in what you just saw."

Frisk sighed. "And he wasn't even using the scary stuff." She smiled at the rookies. "Introduction time! I'm Frisk. This is Sans, but we all call him Bones."

Agent Tahoma held out a hand. "Lily Williams." She shook hands with Frisk. I offered my hand and she took it, but stopped mid shake. "You really are nothing but bones. How does that work?"

I shrugged. "I'm a monster."

Agent Niagra was next. "Larry Rivera." We shook hands, and he didn't look the least bit perturbed. A good thing if he wanted to work with Asriel.

Agent Franklin held out a hand and Frisk knocked it away to hug him. "James! Long time, no see!"

He hugged her back, lifting her a little. "How's it going, Frisk?"

"Pretty good." She turned to me. "This is James Foster. We were in the same class in high school and in the same group in Basic."

He shook my hand. "Nice to meet you, Bones." He looked at Frisk. "How's your mom?"

"Enjoying her early retirement. She went to Japan a few months ago with a tourist group. How's the wife and kids?"

"Karen's happy I'm in a less life threatening job. Though I might have to amend that if I have to train with you everyday. Grace just got her license-"

"Lord have mercy."

"I know. And James Jr. starts high school this fall. Do you get to see anyone else from the old squad?"

"Oh yeah! Chris works here in development and I go out with Cindy at least once a month for lunch."

I looked up at the observation windows and saw Paps standing there, studying us, hands behind his back. I fought the urge to mimic him.

"Who's that?" Agent Tahoma asked, indicating Paps.

"My brother, Papyrus."

"Is his right eye always shut?"

I nodded.

"And you always look half asleep?"

"Always."

"And one eyed?"

I cocked my head at her and then pointed at my eye sockets. "I can see out of both eye sockets, but I only have a visible pupil in the left."

"Why?"

Her guileless curiosity pushed the old need to teach my assistants forward. I put my hands behind my back, standing tall, right eye socket closing. "It's the result of an accident many years ago. I'm lucky, most other versions of me did not technically survive."

Undyne punched my shoulder. "You're doing it again!"

I blinked at her and looked up at Papyrus. He was gone. "Yeah. I need to stop that." I turned to Alphys. "Hey Alphys. I need to talk to you. Got a minute?"

The lizard woman nodded and followed me out the door. We headed to her office and I leaned on the edge of her desk, hands in my pockets. "I want to see your papers on the Determination Matrices."

She blinked, opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it. Went to say something else and thought better of that too. She settled for, "Why?"

"The badges we found on the impostor Frisks have a small piece of the void contained within them. Paps and I think that's how they were able to hop dimensions. We want to make one of our own, but getting a piece of the void to put into a vessel will require a lot of power. I'm hoping the matrices will provide the equations I need to build enough power for the experiment."

"Building power off of Determination...? Yeah. I think that'll work." She opened a closet and dug around, tail swishing back and forth. She pulled out a box and handed it to me. "Everything about Determination and the matrices are in here."

I hefted the box up to one shoulder. "Thank you." I looked back at the closet and the boxes and boxes of files. "I'm glad we've picked up an archivist. It looks like you'll need it."

Alphys nodded with a very relieved look on her face. "She starts in here next week."

"Don't nerd out on her too hard."

Embarrassed, she grabbed the sides of her face. "Oh my gosh! Am I that bad?"

I smiled. "Only when it's something you're really interested in. Thanks again." I winked at her and she pushed me out the door, her face flushed with annoyance.

Not willing to walk all the way across the facility to get to my garage, I took a quick look in Frisk's office, found it empty, and camped out at the small table she used for meetings. Digging through the box was a pain. I spread the contents across the table and started reading, absorbing every last detail. Snagging a pen and paper from Frisk's desk, I started calculating, using magic to visualize the equations as I worked through them.

"What is he doing?"

"Whatever it is, he shouldn't be doing it in my office. Come on. The tour goes this way."

A little while later I noticed a bottle of Tabasco sauce set in front of me. The hallway was dark. How long had I been at this? The matrix was breaking. The equation couldn't hold the power I needed. The magic collapsed and I threw the pen across the room. Grabbing the bottle, I ripped the top off and chugged it.

"Did he just chug an entire bottle of hot sauce?"

"Yes. Yes he did."

"And that's normal?"

"For a Sans, yes. They all have their condiment of choice. The original swills ketchup like it's going out of style."

I looked over at Frisk and Agent Tahoma, both behind the desk, looking over paper records. "I need to go to the Core."

Frisk dropped the file in her hand, the paper falling all over the floor. "What?"

"I need to go to the Core."

"Who are you and what have you done with my Sans?"

Tahoma scooped up the papers. "What's the Core?"

"The facility that provides electricity to the Underground," I said.

"Okay. So, why is going to a power plant bad?"

"Remember when I mentioned an accident earlier? That's where it happened. And if I'm going to figure this out, that's where I need to go." I held out the paper full of equations to Frisk. "You're going to need to give that to me when we get there."

Frisk glanced at it before carefully folding it and placing it in the interior pocket of her jacket. "So what am I telling you when we get there?"

"Tell me that I need to replicate the badge we found and the equations on the sheet aren't giving me the necessary power to do it. We'll grab the badge from Papyrus in the morning."

"I'm missing a huge chunk of this conversation, aren't I?" Tahoma asked.

I snorted. "Once upon a time, there was a Dr. Wing Dings Gaster and he created the Core. An experiment gone awry caused him to fall into the Core reactor. And Papyrus and I climbed out. If I go down to the Core reactor levels, I become my 'old self.' Doing that will let me figure out what I'm doing wrong in the equations since Gaster doesn't think the same way I do."

"Can I come along? I've never been to the Underground. Not even as a tourist."

I blinked at her a few times. "Uh, sure. But you won't be able to go into the basement levels of the Core with us. I might become too interested in experimenting on a new human subject to concentrate on the paper if you're there. I'll ask Paps if he wants to come along. He's makes a great tour guide. He might even take you all the way out to the Ruins to see Asriel's old place."

She looked at Frisk. "You aren't worried about him experimenting on you?"

"I'm used to dealing with him when he's 'under the influence.' Usually he picks up where ever he's left off the last time we were in the Core."

"All right then. Meet you here at 0800?"

I nodded and she headed into the dark hall. I looked at the papers on Frisk's desk. "Need a hand?"

She shook her head. "I'm good."

I picked up Alphys records and put them back in the box before putting it on my shoulder and heading out the door. I stopped a little down the hall way and backed up. Leaning backwards, I looked in the office. "Good night, Sunflower."

She smiled at me. "Good night."

The next morning, Papyrus was bouncing with excitement. "I CANNOT WAIT TO GIVE AGENT TAHOMA A TOUR OF THE UNDERGROUND!"

"Really looking forward to it, huh?"

"I WAS HOPING FOR A CHANCE TO GO ANYWAY SINCE I WANT TO VISIT OUR OLD CABIN AND DIG THROUGH MY PUZZLE BOOKS."

I smiled. I loved my brother's enthusiasm. It was like being bathed in sunshine. Agent Tahoma and Agent Niagra were both waiting outside Frisk's office. I pointed at the office door.

"She's on the phone, but, man! It's a weird conversation," Agent Niagra said.

I took a quick listen. "Oh. She's talking to Red's Frisk." I stepped away. "That's not a conversation I should listen too."

"You're not saying that because eavesdropping is rude."

"Nope. If I listen in, I am likely to hear something that will make me portal to Red's place and beat the hell out of a few people."

"THINGS ARE... NOT NICE THERE. ARE YOU COMING WITH US, AGENT NIAGRA?"

"If you don't mind. I've only been to the Underground as a tourist."

"WELCOME ABOARD!"

Frisk hung up the phone and came out. "Ready, everyone?

"Yeah," I said. "Is the kiddo doing all right?"

She rolled her eyes. "She knows how to handle her brothers, Bones. It was just the weekly call in. She's starting to grow a mean, devious streak. She traded out Red's mustard for some super spicy stuff when he wasn't looking."

I snorted. "I can't save her if she's actively trying to commit suicide." I handed Frisk the badge and she stowed it in the same pocket as my notes. "Everyone ready?"

Papyrus drove us over to the path that lead down into the Underground. The crowd for tours was pretty big today and we walked around to the staff entrance. Dogamy and Dogaressa let us in and we descended into the Underground. Papyrus went off with the rookies while Frisk and I took an elevator into the basement levels of the Core.

I could feel it pulling at me and resisted it as we went into my old office. I sat down at my desk and Frisk sat in a chair on the other side. Rather than fighting off the pull, I let it creep up over me. It was a far more pleasant feeling than I expected.

xxx

My desk was dusty. This was expected, but still shocking. I was never sure how long I was going to be away. I deduced a while ago that I became a completely different person when I left the Core and he decided when or if I came back. The amount of dust indicated that this other self avoided being me. It would have been fascinating to study had it been someone else's condition. I found it rather _annoying_.

I stood, removing my jacket and clucking at the lack of other clothing. Opening the closet, I pulled on one of my black turtlenecks, always very soft, and a lab coat over that. The lab coat was the wrong size, which was expected. I was considerably shorter after the accident. I looked at myself in the small mirror inside the door of the closet. I was unsure if I would ever get used to seeing this face and thinking of it as my own.

A soft rustling of fabric caught my attention and I realized that I was not alone. My embarrassment at having dressed in front of a stranger was quickly replaced with a very personal annoyance. How had I not noticed someone who had been sitting directly in front of me? I looked over. Oh. That was why.

My _favorite_ test subject was waiting, a patient smile on her face. For reasons I never fully understood, I relaxed completely in her presence. It made the small bit of work I could do during these brief moments easier. I walked over and gently touched her face. She leaned her head slightly into my hand, placing her hand over mine. So fascinating. In the years since meeting her, she had not once turned away my skeletal touch. Her face remained the same when I pulled back, but a hint of dolefulness touched her eyes. A thought came sudden and fierce.

"You are why my other self does not like to return here."

She shook her head and that voice of hers wrapped around me. "No. You know that like this, you aren't whole. You spent so long trying to become whole again, that you became someone else. And large portions of those memories pain you."

Another thought occurred to me and I stopped myself from voicing it. It would not have been fair and I did not want that passing sorrow to come to her more fully. I changed topics in order to speed things along and get down to work. "Usually these times happen by accident. We're here intentionally this time, correct?"

"Yes."

I walked around my desk and sat down. "Well then. What am I so incapable of handling outside of the Core that being inside makes a difference?"

She pulled a neatly folded piece of paper and a strange black and green badge out of the interior pocket of her jacket. "This. You found two of these badges on other versions of myself trying to collapse an entire dimension. You need to replicate the badge you found and the equations on the sheet aren't giving you the necessary power to do it."

I looked at the badge. "There is a sliver of the void in this. Very interesting. Likely to produce the ability to travel between dimensions though it would need someone to guide the actual travel." I unfolded the paper and looked at the equations. It was jarring to see my own handwriting and not remember producing it. I lifted my left hand and used magic to summon a model of equation matrix, turning it while I followed the notes. "These are Dr. Alphys Determination models."

"You remember them?"

"Yes. Thank you for showing them to me the last time we were here." I watched the equations collapse. I ran them again, watching the numbers fall. "Ah. That would be the problem."

She leaned forward in the chair. "You found the mistake?"

I smiled. "There is no mistake. The Determination Matrices Dr. Alphys isolated are incapable of producing the necessary power to slice off a piece of the void. That kind of power requires the soul with the most Determination." I stood and held out my hand. "Shall we try it?"

She took my hand, not the least bit hesitant, and a thrum went up my spine. I wonder if she trusts anyone else this much? I led her into the lab behind the office and directed her to lay on the couch.

I looked around, perturbed. "I could really use a lab assistant about now."

"But then you wouldn't have me all to yourself."

That enjoyable thrum went up my spine again and I sighed. "Am I that transparent?"

"You're not afraid of rejection."

That thought came to me again and I shooed it off. I placed a stool next to the couch and took her left hand with my right. "If at any point you feel discomfort or pain, say so immediately. Do not attempt to tough it out."

"Understood."

"Good." I unzipped her jacket and unbuttoned her dress shirt with my left hand. I gently placed a bony finger at the top of her sternum and slowly moved down until I felt her soul. "Are you ready?"

She nodded and I turned her soul blue, lifting it from her body. She shivered, holding tightly to my hand, and then relaxed. I was struck again by how deeply she trusted me and it washed over me in a deeply pleasurable sensation. As much as I wished to do otherwise, I ignored it. Indulging in it might bring a sudden onset of... well. Moving on. I examined the Determination in her soul, building a matrix around it, gently tugging at its power. The equations were very similar to the ones Dr. Alphys had derived. Fascinating!

I turned them faster, speeding the process, building a matrix that would generate enough power to take a piece of the void.

" _STOP_!"

I let the matrix completely collapse and looked down. Her eyes were heavy lidded and she was only vaguely conscious. A hologram of Prince Chara stood by her shoulder.

"It's too much," the A.I. said. It sat down, cross legged, on her shoulder. "You started pulling on her memories and personality. She lost the ability to tell you she was in danger."

I squeezed her hand and her eyes closed completely, breath evening out. I looked at her soul for a moment, running a boney finger along the edge. Her breath caught and her back arched softly, a light flush coming to her cheeks. I gently placed her soul back inside of her and lifted her into my arms. Shifting to the couch, I tucked her head under my chin, listening to her breath. "I was only half way to the power I would need. Someone killed one or more of the many versions of her in order to make the badges." I looked at the hologram. "I am not pleased at the thought that some version of me has willingly done this." I petted her hair and earned myself a contented sigh as she slept. "Is she all right?"

Chara nodded. "It took a lot out of her. Some sleep and some food will set her to rights. We'll need to head back to the surface soon."

I settled back against the couch. "But not too soon." Using a little magic, I summoned pen, paper, and clipboard from a nearby table to write a letter to myself.

Chara leaned over. "What language is that?"

"The one you understand when I speak, though I believe it is merely a benefit of Frisk's ability to understand me, rather than your own." I folded the letter neatly and set it aside. I looked down at her. Her dress shirt was still open. I reluctantly buttoned it shut. "I suppose I can't delay too much longer." I stroked the side of her neck.

Her eyes fluttered and she looked up at me, putting a hand on my chest. "Did you manage it?"

I shook my head. "There is no way to make it work without destroying your soul in the process."

She moved to stand and I stopped her, holding her hand to my sternum.

"I put you in grave danger and it was only Chara's intervention that kept you safe."

She smiled. "I doubt you would have gone too far. Thank you for being honest with me." She leaned in and kissed my nasal bone.

I let go of her hand and helped her stand. She headed back to the office.

"For a moment there, I thought you were going to put her on her back," Chara said.

"So did I." I looked at the hologram. "But you make for a fabulous third wheel."

He crossed his arms over his chest, nose up. "And thank goodness for that." He looked at me, eyes annoyed. "I just would have gone dark for a bit."

"You should not tell me such things. They are a little too encouraging." I grabbed the letter and followed her. I swapped my lab coat for the leather bomber jacket. I did like it. It suited my current body. Though I wished my other self would feel the need to wear a bit more. I left the turtle neck on. I wasn't sure it would make a point to myself, but I could try. I handed her the letter. "Give that to me when I'm him again."

"Any special instructions?"

"Do not attempt to convince him to try the same thing again."

"I won't." She rubbed her head.

"Headache?"

"Just from hunger."

"Let us go then." I escorted her out the door and to the elevator.

xxx

Three hamburgers, five hot dogs, and a massive basket of fries later, Frisk was finally starting to look full. We were sitting at one of my old hot dog stands, manned now by one of the monsters who still lived in the underground.

"Better?"

She nodded and wiped her face.

"I wasn't too bad this time, was I?"

"You always ask and I always tell you that you were fine. Stop worrying about it." She handed me a letter. "Here. You wrote this for yourself."

I read it twice. "*oh."

The letter was pulled out of my hand.

"Hey!" I turned around to see my brother and Agents Niagra and Tahoma.

Papyrus smiled. "WHAT HAVE WE HERE, MY BROTHER?" He read the letter and his face fell. He re-read it. "SANS! YOU LAZY BONES! I DEMAND YOU FIX THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"

I relaxed and smiled. "Okay."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT! THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM!"

"Okay."

"FINE. I'M CHANGING TACTICS."

"Okay."

He turned to Frisk. "I HOPE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER. MY BROTHER IS LESS THAN SKILLED WHEN IT COMES TO SEEING TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS."

I glared at him and got a smug smile in response.

"I'm fine, Papyrus."

"BUT I ONLY KNOW THAT BECAUSE OUR 'FATHER' IS SO GOOD AT TAKING CARE OF HIS FAVORITE TEST SUBJECT." He wagged a finger in the air. "THOUGH THE LAB IS NO PLACE FOR COMFORT. I HOPE THAT IN THE FUTURE YOU WILL ASK ME TO TAKE YOU TO THE CORE INSTEAD."

I stood up. "That tears it!"

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk laughed and turned to the Agents. "Did you two enjoy the tour?"

"Yeah!" Tahoma said. "Does everyone down here know you? Seriously. Everyone who saw Papyrus asked about you. That bag he's got on his arm is filled with stuff monsters wanted him to give to you."

"AH YES. IT IS NOT COMMON KNOWLEDGE SINCE FRISK DECLINED TO BE OUR AMBASSADOR, BUT SHE IS THE ONE WHO DESTROYED THE BARRIER."

Both Agents stared at her.

She shrugged. "There was a $100K pay check waiting for me on the other side. It was very motivating."

"You were paid to open the barrier?" Niagra asked.

"No. I was paid to investigate the disappearances of several people." She took a quick sip of water.

"Did you find them?" Tahoma asked.

"I found two of them. Their souls were among the ones collected by King Asgore and they helped me open the barrier."

"Just like that?"

"Not really. It was quite an adventure up to that point." She held up a hand and started counting down using her fingers. "First, I had to learn to live with an annoying A.I. in my head after nearly dying from the fall. Then I had to date Papyrus. He dumped me."

"I APOLOGIZE! BUT I CANNOT MATCH THE INTENSITY OF YOUR FEELINGS FOR ME!"

Frisk rolled her eyes. "My heart will go on, Paps. I had to convince Undyne to become besties while she was trying to murder me. I had to pretend that I didn't smell a plot miles away while dodging Mettaton's super villain attempts to kill me on live tv."

"The song and dance number was strange, even for him," I said.

Frisk nodded. "Then I helped Undyne and Papyrus find out what Alphys had hidden in the True Lab." She took another sip of water. "After that, I roughed up Asgore enough that he was willing to let us take the souls and attempt to open the barrier." She shrugged. "And here we are."

"She's really leaving out all the good parts," I said.

"Do you mean when you stacked hot dogs on my head at the stand over there?" She pointed. "Or do you mean when you were pretending to sleep through Undyne chasing me down as I ran past your station?"

I looked at the Agents. "Her record is 30 hot dogs and she totally had Undyne under control."

"Yeah. Because ignoring my training while a homicidal fish woman is trying to kill me is totally easy."

"Tibia-honest, I was worried you would just leave her there after she passed out."

She groaned at my joke and stood. "Ready to head home?"

I nodded and we headed to the surface while the Agents pelted Frisk with questions about her adventure. Papyrus eventually took over the question answering and she fell back to walk with me.

"You look good in black."

I looked down at the turtle neck I was wearing. I must have put it on in the lab. "Thanks. Do you have any plans for tonight?"

She shook her head.

"Would you like to go out to Cherry Springs for some stargazing tonight?"

She smiled. "Sure. Are you driving?"

"Of course."

"I'll meet you in the garage after sun down."

Back at the facility I returned Alphys files to her before getting cleaned up and heading over to the garage. Red's Frisk came shooting by on a scooter, Flowey hanging onto her shoulder for dear life. "Huh. She dyed her hair. Flame red suits her." I whistled, loud and sharp, and she screeched to a stop, turning, and coming back slowly. I ruffled her hair.

Agent Franklin came running up after her and stopped short in front of me. "How did you do that? I've been trying to get her to stop all day! And I know Frisk doesn't have any kids, so why does she look like a miniature version of her?"

The kiddo put an arm around me, resting her hand on my pelvis. I rested my arm on her head. "This is a Frisk from another dimension. And most Frisks will stop when a Sans calls them. Whatcha up to, kiddo? Besides running poor James here ragged."

"Just hanging. G dropped me off. Something about an anomaly back home. My brothers are handling it."

"Oh? He's been feeling a little more put together lately, huh?"

"Yep!"

"How are you holding up, Flowey?"

"Better now that I'm not flying towards my death." He turned to Agent Franklin. "I'm sorry Frisk's been such a terror! She's taking after her older brothers more and more everyday."

I ruffled the kid's hair again. "It's after eight. Go get washed up and into bed."

"Oh come on! I'm twelve years old! Can't I stay up later?"

I let both eye sockets go completely dark. "No arguments."

"Going." She turned and slowly wheeled herself down the hall. "Night, Sans."

"Good night, kiddo."

"That eye thing was scary. Wish I could pull it off with my kids." He looked after Frisk. "So where is she staying for the night?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes she crashes in Paps bed and sometimes she stays on Frisk's couch. Which ever she feels like. Probably Paps since I'm taking Frisk out tonight."

"You two been dating long?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Uh, it's not like that."

"Really? What are you two doing?"

"Stargazing."

Agent Franklin laughed. "Not dating, huh? Stargazing is what my wife would call romantic." He headed down the hall. "Night, Bones. "

I sighed. "Good Night."

I headed down the hall and unlocked a special door at the end. I flipped on the light and looked around my garage. More than my room, this was my place: my skele-cave filled with muscle cars, classic oldies music, and more neon than the Vegas Strip. I opened a cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Mad Dog 357, and drank it while I perused the cars. Picking a car for a ride was always hard, but there was a process of elimination. The Hornet was cool, but still needed work. It's engine was making that noise again. The Plymouth Road Runner needed new lights. Not good for night driving. The Camaro? Always a good choice. I flipped the jukebox on and gave the Camaro a good wipe down while I waited for the sun to set.

Frisk knocked before coming in, closing the door behind her. She was wearing one of her intensely feminine linen and lace dresses. This one was in a very light lilac with a light sweater over it to cover bare shoulders. Her picnic blanket was folded over her arm. I opened the car door for her with a flourish.

"Ooh. The Camaro! So when am I going to get a ride in the Hornet?"

I smiled. "Once I get the Hornet's engine cleaned up, you'll get the first ride."

She settled in the seat and buckled while I slid into the driver's side and drove us out to Cherry Springs. A few other cars were in the lot, but we didn't have to hike far to find a nice place to ourselves away from the families out camping. Frisk spread her blanket out on the side of a hill and sat down, eyes on the sky. I laid down, hands behind my head, tracking a satellite as it moved across the star field.

"Are you going to tell me what had Papyrus so upset? He passed it off as a joke, but even you were put off by the letter."

I looked over at her, and found her still watching the sky. "Yeah. I guess I wouldn't tell you what the letter said before leaving the Core."

"But I can guess what it said."

I frowned and sat up, putting my right hand over her left. Frisk looked at me and my courage instantly dried up.

I pulled my hand away. "Sorry."

"Bonehead." Frisk lifted her skirt a little to straddle my legs and leaned into me, effectively blocking escape. "I know you have a _tendon_ cy to back off when you're worried I'll shoot you down, but, I'm not going to do this dance forever. So put your _backbone_ into it and ask me."

"Heh." I shrugged into my chest. "Guess I'm not gettin' outta this one." I took a breath and looked at her. "Will you be my girl?"

She gave me a sly smile and backed off. She sat down next to me and went back to looking at the stars.

"Hey!"

Her eyes flicked to me for a second before she went back to stargazing still smiling.

I snorted and lay back, staring up at the stars. Frisk cuddled up to me, putting a hand on my sternum.

"I can't motivate you at all, can I?"

" _Tibia-_ honest, I we've been seeing each other for a while now, whether I want to _bone_ up to it or not. I guess I've just been waiting for you to tell me it was official."

"It's official."

"Good." I pulled her hand from my sternum to my skull and nuzzled her fingers. "Does this mean I get to see you naked?"

She punched me in the shoulder.


	4. Ep 4 - The Pearl is in the River

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans (our lovely narrator) and Gaster!Papyrus are the creations of Borurou. The AU starring in this episode is Shipworks, which is one of my AUs and appears on the Undertale AU Master List. The story is copyright to me.

1\. This story is rated T for language and suggestive jokes/themes. One f-bomb, because AI's apparently don't feel the need to keep their mouths clean.

Ep. 4 - The Pearl is in the River

I knocked on the back door of Max's Custom Cars.

"We're closed!"

"It's me."

"Door's open!"

I went in the back office and Max looked up from his daily accounting. "Hey, Bones. Need to borrow something?"

"Nope. I want to talk to you about a custom paint job."

Max sat back. "Really? You usually handle those yourself."

"Yeah. But I don't want to screw this one up."

Max stood up. "I want to see this car."

I smiled. "You gotta see this car." I held the door open and he walked outside.

His jaw dropped. "Am I looking at a 1970 Chevy Chevelle?"

"Yep."

"LS6?"

My smile widened. "SS454."

He looked at me for a minute to make sure I wasn't lying and then sprinted over to the car. He popped the hood, and checked the engine. "This is a thing of beauty." He dug around, checking hoses and wires. "So what color are you thinking?"

"That's the problem. I can't decide. I'm just not fond of the gold."

Max pulled a rag out of his back pocket and wiped off his hands before checking out the interior. He pushed on the padding in the seats and stood up. "Your girl bought this, didn't she?"

I leaned against the hood on the driver's side. "What gave it away?"

"You put an extra layer of padding in the seats. Your boney ass certainly doesn't need it."

"I found it when Frisk called me to come over with the truck to pick up a desk she found while picking. It was just sitting in the same barn. While I was busy drooling over it, she wheeled the guy into all but giving it to her. Get this." I knocked on the chassis. "It ran. I drove it back to the garage."

"No way!"

"Oh yeah."

"Hell of a woman, you've got there. And she just gave it to you?"

I nodded. "She said it was my Christmas and Birthday gifts combined."

He put both hands on the roof and looked at me. "What's her favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Follow me."

I followed him back into the office and he pulled out a paint swatch. "This blue was big on the original Chevelle's."

"That's a sweet blue."

"When do you want this done by?"

I leaned against the wall with my hands in my pockets. "When can you fit me in?"

Max pulled out his calendar. "The booth is open tomorrow. Does that work?"

"Totally. I'll see you then." I tossed him the keys.

He caught them before they hit the desk.

"Hey, before you go, does Frisk have a sister?"

I laughed. "Nope. Thanks, Max."

"Thank you for letting me paint that beauty!"

I headed back out to the car and spotted the front end of a hidden cop car waiting to pull me over as soon as I got on the road. He'd followed me over to Max's and it hadn't been the first time I'd been harassed over my cars. It was strange. I'd expected to be discriminated against for being a monster, but in this country, the police were more interested in the ticket money they could get for pulling over someone in a muscle car. It was hard to defend against a ticket when the car in question was built for speed.

I patted the Chevelle's hood. "I need to come up with a name for you. Be good for Max." My phone buzzed in my pocket and I gave it a look. "Blue. Here we go." I looked over at the cop car. "Sorry, man, no ticket for you." I short cut back to just outside of Frisk's office and slammed right into Papyrus. We both stumbled backwards, me holding my head and him holding his sternum.

"OW!"

"Sorry, Paps!"

"NO WORRIES! YOU DIDN'T CRACK ANYTHING." He stood up straight and adjusted his suit. He was looking very dapper today in a Victorian era brown waist coat with tails, long slacks, a vest with embroidered skulls over a white button down, and top hat. He adjusted his red scarf.

"What's with the old timey threads?"

He smiled. "I AM COMING ALONG ON THE MISSION TODAY! I'M SURE YOU CAN GUESS WHERE WE ARE GOING."

I looked over at Frisk. She had declined a corseted dress in favor of her uniform. Oh well. "What's Steam's problem?"

"I have no idea. Blue got a call from Dr. Gaster for help, but was mum on the details. Fase didn't detect an anomaly." She came out of the office and handed me my mission gear.

I shouldered my bag and looked around. "Are we ready?"

They both nodded. I put my arm around Frisk's waist and Papyrus put his hand on my shoulder. I solved the necessary equations and we landed in the shipyards on the east side of St. Canard City. Majestic air ships bobbed up and down, held aloft by magical engines. We walked across the yard to W.D. Gaster's Shipworks, a large hanger. The door was open and we walked into the bay. A large airship hung in the air just above our heads.

A bleached blonde head of hair with bright pink tips poked out of the bottom of the ship. "Hello! Welcome to Dr. Gaster's Shipworks!"

"Hello, Frisk."

The kid pulled his goggles off, making the film of filth covering his face, super apparent. "Hey, Bones!"

The dark brown head of Chara, Frisk's identical twin brother, poked out of the ship next to him, goggles already in his hair. "Great. Another smiley trash bag."

"Prince Chara! You will not speak so rudely!" Dr. Gaster yelled as he came out of his office. "Honestly, child. You will show better manners or I will not let you apprentice here any longer."

Chara snorted, red eyes rolling. "Yes, Doctor." He and Frisk flipped over, dropping out of the airship to land on their feet.

Gaster drew up to his full height, which made him as tall as Papyrus, and looked down at Chara with narrowed eyes. "Do not think for a moment that my personal indebtedness to you and your brother for opening the barrier means that I will overlook your poor attitude." He looked to the rest of us. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Sure thing," I said. "Where's Sans and Papyrus?"

"That would be the problem. They're missing. It's not completely out of the ordinary for either of them to up and be gone for a few days on some adventure or another, but they usually take at least one of the twins along and are back post haste." He sighed. "To make matters worse, my new ship is going to be unveiled three days from now at the Grand Fair and we've already had several attempts to sabotage or steal it." He gestured to the air ship the twins had been working on. _Planar Pearl_ was emblazoned on the bow.

"How long have they been gone?" Frisk asked.

"Almost two weeks now."

"Two weeks?!" Frisk groaned. "That's going to make investigating hard. Do you have any idea where they might have gone?"

"None."

She sighed. "Well, can we see their offices?"

"Certainly. Boys? Take them please."

Chara grabbed Papyrus' hand and pulled him toward the elevator. "Come on."

I looked at Frisk and pointed at the two.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah. Chara and Papyrus have really been getting along lately. He acts like a total wad, but he's really worried that Paps is gone. Not Sans so much. But, you know, my brother's always looking for a bad time." He sighed loudly. "Come on." The offices were a little dusty, but otherwise looked normal.

My Frisk pulled on a pair of latex gloves and started investigating, carefully going through Steam's desk while Papyrus went through the book shelves.

"AH! FRISK! LOOK AT THIS." He handed her a journal, opened to the last recorded entry. We all looked at the writing.

 _The Pearl is in the River._

"What does that mean?" Chara asked.

" _Planar Pearl_ is the name of the new ship, right? What makes it so special?"

Chara crossed his arms over his chest. "Sorry. Top secret."

"It's a void traveling ship," Frisk said.

"Idiot! We aren't supposed to talk to anyone about it!"

Frisk smiled. "We aren't supposed to talk to anyone who doesn't already know and I'm standing in an office with Sans, Papyrus, and you. So who am I not supposed to talk too?"

Chara grumbled.

C burst to life on my Frisk's shoulder. "Hey, me! Stop being an ass."

My Frisk glared at the twins. "Moving along. Can the _Planar Pearl_ actually sail in water or is this a metaphor for a river in the air?"

Chara shrugged. "The _Pearl_ is not made to sail in water, and I've never heard anyone refer to anything other than the Milky Way as a river in the sky."

"Did you guys need to dive in a river to get some part of the ship?"

The twins looked at each other.

"Yeah," Frisk said. "We had to dive for the rare materials that make up large portions of the control panel. We did that in the Vasp Run. It's about an hour outside of town."

"Papyrus found a temple underneath the water but didn't get the chance to explore it," Chara said. His eyes got wide. "Oh wait! What if they went back?"

"Without us? No way!" Frisk frowned.

"Well, it's our first good lead, so we'll check it out." My Frisk put the journal back on the shelf and we all headed out the door.

Vasp Run was a good half mile across, but the water was on the calm side thanks to a dam a few miles down river.

"You found the temple here?" I asked. "How did you get into it?"

"We didn't," Frisk said. "We were planning to come back later."

Chara looked at Papyrus. "Can you figure it out?"

Papyrus was already looking around. "WHERE IS THE TEMPLE LOCATED?"

Chara pointed. "Right there."

Papyrus picked Chara up and set him so he was standing in line with where the temple was located under the water. He looked around, noting land marks, and interesting plant arrangements. After a minute he hummed and knocked on a nearby tree. It was metal and hollow. He pulled on a branch and the ground shook. An island and the path to it rose from underneath the water and the temple appeared.

"HOW WAS THAT?"

Chara smiled. "Sweet."

"NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk leaned into me. "How much do you want to bet that it's an Illuminati Secret hide out?"

I leaned in to her. "What are we betting?"

"Loser treats on Friday at the drive in."

"I'll take that action. I say it's a secret society of vampires."

She looked at the river and then back at me. "I thought vampires couldn't cross running water."

"That water is definitely not running. That's a mosey at the most." I held out my left hand and she shook it before heading out across the path to the temple. The building looked like your standard Freemason temple, but lacked the appropriate symbols on the front. All in all, it was rather plain. It didn't take Papyrus long to figure out the mechanism to the door and it slid down to reveal a long dark hallway that descended deep underneath the river.

Frisk looked at the assembled. "Bones to the back. Kids in the middle. Papyrus behind me. C? Calculate for stealth and retrieval. Everyone ready?"

"Yeah."

"YES."

"Can we just go already?"

"Watch your mouth, Chara."

"Yes, ma'am."

Frisk looked at me. "If things get hairy, grab the twins and short cut back to the Shipworks."

I nodded and we descended into darkness. Frisk pulled out her flashlight and stepped carefully down the stairs. The stairs were very dry, which didn't make any sense seeing as the river was just on the other side of the walls. Even my boots seemed dry despite having just walked across a wet path. I put my hand up and felt the soft pulse of magic in the walls.

Frisk stopped every few steps to check for potential traps before descending further. After a good thirty minutes, the sound in the stairwell changed and I knew that we were now under the river itself. We finally came to a door and it opened automatically. Inside a brightly lit room were two lines of coffins. Frisk sighed, a look of mock defeat on her face when she looked at me. I smiled as I looked around a room covered in paintings of men and women of such ethereal beauty, they could not have been real... unless they were vampires.

Papyrus examined the room while the twins very carefully opened the lid of one coffin and closed it just as quietly. Chara motioned that it was empty. We checked the rest. All empty. Papyrus indicated that he'd found a switch. The twins moved to stand behind me and Frisk pulled her gun. She nodded to Papyrus and he flipped the switch, revealing a concealed door behind a painting. Frisk went through first, aim steady as she looked around a second brightly lit room. Sitting around a table were three vampires, playing a game with small, colorful pyramids.

And they were arguing heatedly in whispers over the table about who won.

"Look. I have a point here and a point right here. You aren't even blocking me!"

"I'm defended here and here!"

"It doesn't matter who has what points. I've won!"

"No, you haven't!"

Papyrus smiled _that_ smile. I rolled my eyes and tapped the twins on their shoulders, motioning them backwards.

Papyrus silently walked up to the table, and leaned over the assembled, eye glowing brightly. "WHAT YOU HAVE HERE, GENTLEMEN, IS A STALE MATE. NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU HAS MANAGED TO SCORE A POINT AGAINST THE OTHER. THIS IS LESS A GAME OF ICEHOUSE AND MORE OF A MESS. A TODDLER WITH A BAG FULL OF BLOCKS MANAGES A MORE ARTFUL ARRANGEMENT. ALL I SEE HERE ARE THREE ANTEDILUVIAN, MISCREANT, TRY HARDS."

All three vampires looked and, somehow, became even paler than they were before.

"Death himself has come for us!"

"Woe be unto us, the Secret Order of the Vampire Illuminati!"

Frisk put her head on my shoulder, barely able to contain her laughter.

I patted her on the head. "Hey, Babe! I guess we both win!"

Papyrus looked back at us. "THAT MEANS THAT THE TWO OF YOU ARE TREATING ME AT THE DRIVE IN, CORRECT?"

"We've got you covered, Paps," Frisk managed between muffled whimpers and laughter.

"Hey guys? They're getting away," the other Frisk said.

My Frisk, very lazily, aimed her gun, and fired three foam core rounds at the legs of the retreating vampires. All three hit the floor in a scramble.

Chara pulled on his brother's sleeve. "Remind me to never ever make her mad," he said. "She wasn't even looking and hit all of them."

Frisk wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh geez, Chara. I'm not that good! C calculates and guides my shots."

"DO NOT LIE TO HIM, FRISK. I HAVE SEEN YOU DO EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF YOUR AI."

She smiled at Paps. "Shush." Walking over to the three vampires, she knelt next to one.

He hissed at her and she rolled her eyes.

"We're looking for two of our friends. You can either be useful or I can let Death and his brother over there, have you." She jerked a thumb at me.

The vampire looked at me and I let my left eye activate while winking my right at him. He looked back at Frisk. He nervously brightly, fangs impossibly big in his mouth. "Who exactly are you looking for?"

"Two skeletons who look very similar to them."

The vampire looked at Papyrus and I again and back to her. "You're kidding, right?"

She shook her head.

"No."

"Okay." Frisk reached into her pocket for dissolvent.

One vampire cracked out of the foam core and jumped her, knocking her flat against the ground. Frisk caught him at the shoulders, arms straight, elbows locked, and not the least bit concerned by the dripping fangs hanging over her.

"Sorry. Not into biting." She shrimped to the left, putting her feet on his hips, and letting her hands slide to his elbows. When he tried to pull away, she grabbed his wrists, and kicked him in the jaw hard enough to crack it. She let go and he fell backwards on top of his friends. Frisk rolled to her feet and dusted off her hands. "You know, I was just going to dissolve the foam and call it done. No harm. No foul. But now I think you guys are actually up to something whether it involves my missing friends or not. So you can just start telling me, or I'll have one of the big bad skeletons behind me beat it out of you. Or I can beat it out of you. I think I've earned it."

One vampire let out a little 'eep!'

"We're just involved in regular old world domination! I swear!" The one on the bottom of the pile yelled.

The vampire on the top of the pile stood, rubbing his jaw as it set back into place. "I've never actually had a human hit me that hard before."

"Run, Emery!"

"Save yourself!"

Emery looked down at the vampires on the floor. "Quiet, fools." He turned back to Frisk. "We've not seen anything like your missing friends."

"I gathered that."

His eyes narrowed. "What are those markings on the back of your neck and running up to just the very edges of your face? Is that what gives you your strength and speed?"

I whistled low. That's some good eyesight. Most people can't even make out C's implants anymore.

He reached out to touch her.

Frisk stepped back. "Touch No." She crossed her arms over her chests, hands resting on the knives hidden in her sleeves. "Years of training give me my strength and speed, and you're pushing my patience. What are you up to down here besides arguing over a game you obviously don't know how to play."

His nostrils flared. "There is nothing we are involved in that is any concern of your's."

"World domination wouldn't be a concern?" She smiled. "You know what? You're friends on the floor are way more talkative. Bones?"

Snapped my phalanges, turning Emery blue, throwing him against the wall, and holding him there. He struggled against my magic and I snorted.

Frisk knelt down next to the two on the floor. She picked one at random and lifted him by his hair. "So how are you going to take over the world?"

"OW, OW, OW, OW, OW! We're going to kidnap Princess Asriel and hold her hostage in exchange for a powerful monster soul!"

"What?" Chara barked. His brother grabbed his arm to keep him from running over.

"Idiot!" Emery shouted.

Frisk dropped the vampire. "Well, I wasn't expecting a decent answer to that question." She stood. "You know what? I almost want to see you try. I mean, assuming you got past the royal guard, you'd have to tangle with Undyne. And if you did manage to get past her, you'd have to deal with the King and Queen, neither of whom are slouches." She looked at Emery. "But with just the three of you, and only one who is even vaguely competent, you're going to sneak in and take Asriel by surprise, right?"

The vampire shook his head.

Frisk smiled at him. "Really? Show me your plans."

"Move and I will personally kill you!" Emery shouted from the wall.

"Well, he can't exactly move at the moment. I have to get him out of the foam first." She pulled out a little vial of dissolvent. "Attempt to escape or attack after I let you out and you'll have a bad time." She poured the dissolvent over the foam and the vampire got himself out of it.

He stood up and nervously offered his hand with a nervous smile. "Darius at your service!"

Frisk ignored the offered hand and shooed him along. Darius walked into another room and Frisk followed. I turned the second vampire on the floor blue and floated him and Emery behind us. Darius pointed to a bunch of plans on a desk.

She stepped up to the desk putting her back to Darius and he jumped her, fangs sinking into her neck. Before anyone could move an electrical charge went through the vampire knocking him to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

Frisk looked down at Darius with glowing red eyes. " _Touch NO."_ The voice that fell from her lips was a combination of her's and C's. The red faded away and her eyes turned blue again. "Papyrus? Would you mind checking the wound?" Papyrus and the twins hurried over to check on her.

I walked over to the vampire and put a bone through his heart. Darius stopped twitching and turned to dust. I looked over my shoulder at Emery and the other vampire. "So, do I need to worry about my girl turning into a vampire or is the process a bit more complicated than a single bite?"

Emery stared at her with undisguised fear. "She'll be more susceptible to our hypnotism, but otherwise fine." He looked at me. "Though I doubt any vampire's will is as strong as the demon that possesses her."

"What? No come back, C?"

C's voice came over my comm. "Nah. I've meant enough actual demonic versions of myself that I'm not offended."

Papyrus cleaned the puncture wounds and gently bandaged them.

"Thank you," Paps."

He gave her a smile. "PLEASE BE MORE CAREFUL. I'M NOT SURE MY BROTHER CAN HANDLE YOU BEING SO OVER CONFIDENT ALL THE TIME."

She sighed at him and turned back to the desk.

Chara held up a paper. "Look at this. They were going to grab Az tomorrow when everyone came for the grand opening of the fair."

Both Frisks leaned in to look at the paper.

"This operation would take more than three people and would take insiders," my Frisk said. She looked over her shoulder at Emery. "Give us names."

Emery ignored her, starring intensely at the twins.

Frisk crossed his arms over his chest. "Hey! Fangs! Give us the names!"

Chara put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "He's figured out who we are."

The building started to shake.

"We've taken too long," my Frisk said. She gathered up all the papers on the desk and shoved them in her bag. "Let's go. Bones?"

"I've got them." Once everyone was out of the room, I summoned two sharpened bones and staked the vampires. The unnamed one turned to dust while Emery remained, pinned to the wall, dead. I frowned and followed everyone out of the temple. When I stepped off the path over the water, the entire building sank beneath the river.

"Well, we're no closer to find Sans and Papyrus, but this is too important to ignore," Frisk said. She hefted her backpack. "Let's head back to Shipworks and dig through the papers. Maybe we can figure out who the insiders working with the vampires are." She stopped and looked at me. "Did I really just say that?"

I nodded.

"You know, vampires were last on my list of things to see today."

I smiled and short cut us all back to Steam's office. Frisk put her backpack down and unpacked the papers. There was a weird noise in the hangar. We all ran for the door. The hangar roof was opening and four men were on the _Planar Pearl_ , maneuvering it out of the bay.

"No!" Chara screamed. He ran for edge of the top floor platform and jumped, landing on top of a small flyer. My Frisk followed, landing just behind him, and both crawling into the ship's cockpit. The flyer disconnected from its display wires and blasted off after the airship.

The Frisk standing next to me whistled and two GB's converted into motorcycles came up next to us. He pulled a helmet on over his head while he mounted. "Come on!"

We followed the airship on the ground, dodging traffic, while Chara's flyer deftly weaved around buildings. A police bike came up on my left and I cursed under my breath until it sped past me, a familiar red pony tail flapping in the wind.

"PREPARE TO RAMP TO THE BRIDGE!" Undyne yelled. A long series of spears slammed into the ground, forming a ramp. Our bikes jumped, landing on the bridge that would take us over the Riesler building and right up to meet the airship.

Chara's flyer shot past us and my Frisk swung out of the cockpit, hanging upside down by a harness. She aimed for the ships open controls and fired four shots, locking the entire panel in hard foam.

Undyne drove up along side Frisk and tossed him a spear. He caught it one handed and stood up, trusting the GB to direct itself. It came to a dead stop at the edge of the bridge and the momentum threw him right to the airship. Undyne and I followed suit, all of us rolling to our feet. Frisk attacked the hijacker at the controls, twisting him around with the spear, flooring him. He knocked the hijacker out while I grabbed the one coming up behind him and threw the guy into another of his companions.

Undyne pulled her helmet off, revealing a terrifying smile. "In the name of the King, you are under arrest!"

The hijackers still standing dropped their weapons, hands in the air. The airship tilted dangerously to the starboard side.

"Bones! Dissolvent!"

I tossed Frisk a bottle from my pocket and he poured it over the control panel, smashing the foam away. A few button pushes and a turn of the wheel righted the ship and turned it back toward the ship yard. Undyne had all four men in cuffs and ready for the rest of the royal guard to take away when we settled the airship back in the bay.

Chara and Frisk flew back into the hangar, the flyer attaching to its display wires. Chara leaned over the side looking down at us. "Hey! Can we get some help down?"

I snapped my fingers, turning them both blue and floating them to the floor of the hangar.

Undyne ruffled Chara's and Frisk's hair. "Hey punks! Keeping this thing under wraps has been a massive pain!"

"Tell me about it," Frisk groaned.

"This is the fourth attempt to steal the _Pearl_ in a week!" Chara yelled. "I'm sick of it! Where the hell are Sans and Papyrus when you need them?"

Undyne looked at them both confused and turned toward Gaster, who was coming up to check the ship.

I tapped her shoulder. "Hey Undyne, we need to talk."

She looked at me. "Hey, Bones. Whatcha got for me?"

"We stumbled on a plot to kidnap Princess Asriel."

She frowned. "Show me."

Back in Steam's office, Frisk poured over the papers with Undyne.

"This is bad," Undyne said. "This is the route the royal family will be taking to the grand opening of the fair. Only a few key people know this information."

Frisk handed her a piece of paper. "We suspect that they intend to grab the Princess en-route. Do you recognize this handwriting?"

The fish woman stared at the paper. "Son of a... I don't need to recognize the hand writing. The man writes exactly the way he talks. This is Hubert Gaskell. He's a human hired on to the guard three years ago. We haven't even had a breath of anything like this out of him. I would not have pegged him for betrayal."

Frisk looked at her. "Has he been covering his neck recently?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"The group running this operation is the Vampire Illuminati. One of the vampire's said that being bitten would make you more susceptible to their hypnotic powers. He may just be a pawn and not actually in league with the group. Looks like they intend to hit the convoy here." Frisk put her finger on the map. "Where the least amount of guards are available."

"I'll leave the security as is and put our secret service agents here. That will keep these guys from being tipped off." She pointed at Frisk's neck. "You look like you've been bitten."

"C is sure he can counter act whatever they try on me."

"Somebody is keeping an eye on you just in case right?"

"I've got four eye sockets right here. That enough?"

She looked at Paps and I, and smiled. "Yeah. The skelebros are usually good at keeping their Frisks in check."

"You know? You're one of the few Undyne's who knows who we are and what we do," I said.

"That's probably because you guys visit so often! Why is that?"

"It's a nice place you've got here and neither of the boys turn into Gaster," Frisk answered.

Undyne got up in my face. "That's really a thing?" She laughed. "That has to be hilarious!"

I groaned. "Only for everyone else. And only when that dimension's Gaster isn't evil."

She jerked her thumb at the door. "That guy has evil versions of himself? Are they all as absent minded as he is?"

I shook my head.

She pursed her lips. "Are there evil versions of me?"

I nodded.

"Woah." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't imagine not being a hero. Come by the royal guard's offices tomorrow morning around ten. I could use you for the Grand Opening." She looked over at the twins. "And make sure the boys are cleaned up. They need to be in the procession with their sister."

"Can do," Frisk said.

Undyne headed out.

"Do we want to stay at the usual place tonight?" Frisk asked.

I put a hand on her hip and stepped up to her. "Sure. Want to share a room?"

She smiled. "You can share one with your brother. I'll have one of my own."

"REALLY, SANS!"

I shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to try."

"IT WILL IF SHE DECIDES TO FLOOR YOU."

"I'm not going to hurt him for bad flirting, Papyrus." She turned to the twins. "You two get bathed before bed tonight. It'll be less for me to think about in the morning."

They both saluted sharply before running off toward Gaster.

"SANS! I SHALL NOW DEMONSTRATE HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN." He held out his arm to Frisk. "SHALL WE GO, DEAR LADY?"

Frisk took his arm with a smile.

"NYEH HEH HEH!"

They headed for the door. I sighed and followed.

The Autumn Estate Hotel was located south of the shipyards, just at the edge of the city. Its balconies had beautiful views of Rushing Run and its in house restaurant was delicious, if a little fancy for my liking. You can tell you've been some where often enough when they leave bottles of hot sauce in your room.

Frisk was cuddled up under my right arm, looking over the papers we'd found. Paps was buried in a book. I was watching the boats on Rushing Run light up as the sun set, lazily running boney fingers up and down Frisk's arm. Music drifted up from the phonograph in the lobby below the room.

"Find anything new in the papers?"

She shook her head and dropped them on the coffee table. "No. Even if I did, I probably wouldn't notice." She rubbed her eyes. "My eyes are all blurry. I'm going to bed." She kissed the lower edge of my mandible before heading into her room in the suite.

"WE SHOULD GO TO BED TOO, SANS. IT WILL BE AN EXCITING DAY TOMORROW."

"Yeah." I stood. "Do you want me to read you a story tonight?"

He looked at me suspiciously. "DID YOU EVEN BRING ONE?"

"No. But I have 'One Tiny Turtle' memorized, so I thought I'd go with that."

"GOOD ENOUGH."

We went into the second bedroom. Paps snuggled in under the covers of his bed while I laid on top of my bed's quilt, arms behind my head. I started reciting the book from memory, my voice sinking into a low and hypnotic tone. Papyrus was asleep before I got to the part about the turtle climbing up on the beach to lay eggs. I could still hear the phonograph from the lobby, the music winding it's way through the room. My eye sockets drifted shut.

"Sans?"

I opened my eyes. It was dark, the glow from my eye giving the only illumination.

"Sans?"

It was my comm, C's voice barely a whisper. "Yeah, C?"

"Someone just teleported into Frisk's room. I can't get her to wake up."

I stood and using magic, floated silently to the door. "What's the guy doing?"

"It's a chick and she's standing there, holding a cape over the lower half of her face."

I stopped dead. "Are you kidding me?"

"No. I think we've taken the train to vampire tropes-ville."

I peeked in Frisk's room.

"Word of warning. If Elvira over here attempts to bite, I am taking control of Frisk."

"Your funeral," I whispered. I short cut into the room behind the vampire.

The vampire leaned over Frisk. "Rise, my pretty slave! Come to your master!"

Frisk's eyes opened and glowed a bright, blood red. C's voice fell from her lips. "Fuck off, bitch."

The vampire stepped back quickly and I grabbed her. "Hey, Fangs! Where ya going? Stick around for a bit. We've got some questions to ask you."

Frisk sat up, legs swinging over the side of the bed, eyes still a deadly shade of red. "How did you even know to look for us? Your friends are dead."

She smiled, fangs evident. "Not all dead."

"Shit. Emery." I frowned. "Let me guess. I had to cut off his head to finish the job, huh?"

She frowned, silent.

I raised a brow bone. "Let's move on. So you thought you could use my girl here as your unwitting pawn in the kidnapping tomorrow, right? Well, change of plans for you. You're going to tell me your entire plan or I teleport you to the sunny side of the Earth."

"You're bluffing."

I teleported us to the other side of the world just long enough to get a scream out of her and teleported back. "Spill, Fangs."

She struggled, panicking. "It's not my plan! It's a plan from the higher ups! We gather a bunch of bitten pawns to kidnap the Princess and hold her ransom in exchange for a powerful monster soul! If the plan failed, all we would lose is cannon fodder!"

I smiled, big and mean. "And it never occurred to anyone that if they were successful, you would have the problem of keeping Asriel under control? The demure, little ball of princess fluff is a facade, lady. Asriel's not someone to be toyed with."

"The back up plan is to grab one of the adopted twins."

My smile fell and my eyes went dark.

"Oh that was a bad idea," C said. "You should never threaten a Frisk in front of a Sans. It just doesn't go well." C's smile blossomed across Frisk's face. "And didn't she refer to your Frisk as canon fodder earlier?"

"Where are your higher ups located?"

She fell completely silent.

"One vampire, extra crispy, coming up!"

"Go ahead. Teleport. My master would kill me if I revealed his location to you."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I shoved her toward the door. "Leave."

She bolted into the living area and jumped from the balcony.

The red in Frisk's eyes faded. "This is beyond taxing," C said. The red was suddenly gone and Frisk fell backward onto the bed.

I followed the vampire, short cutting to keep up with her. "And the last little piggy went 'wee wee wee' all the home," I muttered under my breath.

She ran down an alley near the royal gardens where the fair was to open tomorrow. She pushed on a brick in the wall opening a hidden doorway. I followed her, eye black to hide the glow. She ran into a posh room falling at the feet of a Dracula wanna-be sitting on a throne. Emery was standing behind him, looking little worse for wear.

"Master! I found the interlopers! Emery was right. The demon possessing the woman is very powerful. It was able to control her entire body. There is no way we can use her for our plans."

Emery leaned forward. "Master? I believe that the demon is connected to her via some sort of device in her neck. Did you see the strange lines?"

She shook her head. "Not from the position I was in."

Drac-baby raised an eye brow.

"One of the skeletal men grabbed me."

"And you escaped?" Emery asked.

She said nothing.

The master turned the wine glass in his hand. "You were let go and likely followed. One or more people may even be here with us now." He looked toward the stairwell where I stood hidden in the shadows. "Not that it matters. None can oppose me and even if by some miracle I could be defeated our plan would still go on. The Secret Order of the Vampire Illuminati will rule this world."

Oh wow. This guy really knew how to tickle the funny bone! I felt a jab to the back and knew I'd been caught.

"Hands up and move forward."

I sighed and did as told, relaxing into the stride and giving my captors my best smile.

The woman quickly hid behind Drac-baby, standing cautiously next to Emery.

"Ah, come on, babe? Don't you miss me?"

She hissed at me, fangs bared.

I put a hand over my chest. "I'm heart broken."

"Do you even have a heart?"

I lifted the bottom edge of my turtleneck and showed her my empty rib cage. "Tibia-honest, you can see right through me."

I was poked in the back again. "Hands up, monster."

I put my hands back up.

"Who are you?" Drac-baby asked.

"The name's Sans."

He frowned. "Sans? The engineer at Gaster's Shipworks?"

"Nah. I'm not a mechanical engineer. I'm a quantum physicist."

"In a fur lined bomber jacket? I doubt it."

I shrugged, letting my right eye socket close completely. "Want a demonstration?"

The assembled gave me a round of odd looks and I smiled, letting my hands fall to my pockets. I opened a rift behind me and fell backwards on top of the guy behind me, pushing us both into the rift. While the vampire fell into blackness, I planted my feet in the void and stepped back out of the rift, closing it behind me. Another rift teleported four of my GB's into the room, flanking me on both sides.

"Since you guys have been so uncommunicative about yourselves and your plans, I really don't see a need to keep you around. And I'm pretty sure complete obliteration by my pets here means I never have to see you again."

The GB's fired. Emery and the vampire lady were completely destroyed in the blast. Drac-baby disappeared only to reappear in front of me and grab my neck, lifting me up. I grinned at him and snapped my phalanges, turning him blue. I tossed him backwards and he had the presence of mind to hold on to me so I would go with him. We crashed into the wall and he let go of me. I jumped back from him.

"You're a smart cookie."

He said nothing and disappeared again. I jumped backwards from his strike, staying just out of his reach. He wasn't teleporting. Just moving super fast. I short cut to the other end of the room, giving myself some space. He came at me and I summoned a bone attack out of the floor, shredding his pants and a bit of flesh as well. He stumbled to the floor. His legs healed as fast as I'd injured him and he came at me again, this time looking for and avoiding the glow of my attacks. I whistled for the GB's and they flew toward me. When the vampire reached me, I short cut to just outside the blast zone and the GB's let loose. He crumbled in the blast.

The GB's vibrated happily and rushed me, looking for affection. I spent a little time petting them before sending them home and looking around the vampire hide out. It was empty of undead but they were kind enough to leave their papers out in the open on a desk. I felt a twitch in my eye, a sign that I needed to go back to sleep. I picked everything up and short cut back to the hotel, dropping the papers on the coffee table.

I looked in on Frisk. She was curled on her side on top the bed's quilt and shivering. I gently pulled the blanket over her, tucking it around her shoulders. I went back to my bed and fell on it face first, hoping that it was still early in the night and I would at least be getting four or five hours of sleep.

I woke up to a gentle touch along the upper most crack in my skull. I opened my left eye and was treated to the vision of Frisk, still in her nightgown, bathed in sunlight from the window.

"C tells me you had an adventure last night."

I rubbed my skull. "Yeah. Did I sleep through my alarm?"

"I turned it off so you could sleep in a little. Your brother is getting us some breakfast. I promised him I would have you up by the time he came back."

I smiled. "So, what's your plan to get me out of bed?"

She sat on the edge of the bed. "Well, I was just going to flip you out of it by lifting the mattress. But I've decided on a gentler approach." She leaned down, placing her hands on either side of my skull. She trailed a line of kisses along the cracks in my skull. She stood with a smile and started unbuttoning her night gown as she walk back toward her room. I jumped up to follow her... and got the door to her room slammed in my face.

I rubbed my skull. "I really should have seen that coming." I sighed and leaned against the door. "Are you ever going to stop teasing me?"

"Not for as long as I live, Bones!"

I rolled my eye and went back to my room to wash up and get into a fresh turtleneck. I looked at myself for a minute and wondered why I started wearing them. I didn't remember caring about it before. I shook off the thought and went back into the living room where Paps was setting out breakfast for us. Frisk was already in uniform at the table looking over the papers I'd found.

I sat down next to her, grabbed a bottle of hot sauce, and poured it into my tea. "Anything new in those?"

"Yeah. The plans here are more detailed and names the pawns."

"Did C fill you in on my adventure last night?"

"Up to about half way through the vampire fight. That's when he lost contact from exhaustion. Did he really take full control of me in my sleep? That's really hard for him." She took the hot sauce from me, poured some on her eggs, and handed it back before taking a bite. "It's way easier for him when I'm conscious."

"You two have experimented with it?"

"Of course. He said that he doesn't like to do it because the other facets of me in my head mess with him."

"What does that even mean?"

She put her fork down. "I'm not sure and when I ask, he's not sure how to describe it." She reached for a tea cup without looking and I pushed mine into her hand. She took a sip and spit it out. "Sans!"

I laughed. "That's for teasing."

She narrowed her eyes at me, but couldn't hide the smile when she pursed her lips.

"IF YOU TWO ARE DONE WITH YOUR MORNING COURTSHIP RITUAL, WE REALLY NEED TO BE GOING. WE STILL HAVE TO RETRIEVE THE TWINS BEFORE HEADING TO UNDYNE'S OFFICE."

I downed the rest of the bottle of hot sauce and stood. "Let's go."

After Frisk had determined that the twins were properly dressed for the Grand Opening, we hoofed it to the Royal Guard's offices just outside the palace. The boys waved at us as they were ushered inside the palace gates. Princess Asriel waited for them on the other side, a mischievous smile on her face. Inside the offices, Undyne combed through the new papers while grilling me about my midnight adventure.

She whistled and a bunch of secret service in plain clothes came into her office. She put down a map. "Each of you will take the positions marked on the map. The first objective is to protect the royal family. The second objective is to round up as many of the vampire's pawns as possible without killing them. Use deadly force only if necessary. Remember that these people don't know what they're doing."

Each agent checked their place on the map and headed out.

Undyne looked at us. "You two will stick out like sore thumbs in your uniforms, so I had one of the juniors dig up royal guard uniforms for the both of you. You'll both switch with the on duty guards at the midway point and escort the carriage front right and back left. Papyrus, you and I will actually be in the carriage. Provided no one's been dilly-dallying the royal family should be at the fair grounds before we even leave with the convoy."

"Nice," Frisk said. "C? Calculate for bodyguard duty."

C's voice came over the comms. "On it."

Undyne smiled big and toothy. "Let's get you guys suited up." She led us to a supply room and handed us the uniforms she'd pulled.

I sighed as I shrugged out of my beloved jacket. I touched the pocket with the picture gently before folding it and laying it on the shelf. I turned and changed with my back to Frisk.

"Is there a problem?" Undyne asked. I sneaked a peek over my shoulder.

Frisk was rolling her shoulders, getting a feel for the uniform. "The armor placement is different. I'll get used to it."

Undyne nodded. "You'll need leave your weapons behind or conceal them in a different way. They are different enough from what we use here that it'll tip someone off if they're smart."

"Are your spears standard?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah." Undyne smiled. "You want one?"

"Magical spear for the win!" Frisk said.

Undyne conjured one and handed it to her. Frisk tested it's weight and spun it a few times before standing to attention and saluting Undyne.

"Nice." Undyne looked at me. "Ready, Bones?"

I nodded once and we headed out to the convoy. Undyne and Papyrus headed onto the palace grounds while Frisk and I short cut to our positions. The royal guards pulled us into their ranks, a few taking the time to hug Frisk or comment on how lucky they were to get to work with a boss monster. The streets were quiet but for normal traffic. When the convoy came around, we switched seamlessly, and continued to the fair grounds.

A strange crowd started gathering around us at the part of town the abduction would take place moving in the direction of the fair grounds, pressing in on all sides. I stepped with the royal guard, pushing the crowd away from the carriage. Someone from the crowd threw a strange device in the air, arcing it over the carriage. It stopped mid-flight, putting down a barrier around us, trapping us inside with a large chunk of the crowd. The crowd turned to us, eyes hazy, angry red marks on their necks.

There were way more people here than in the original plan.

Frisk threw the spear and smashed the device trapping us. The barrier fell and the crowd pushed in en mass trying to break over us with numbers. There was no way we were going to be able fend them all off without deadly force.

"STAR BLAZING!"

Massive stars rained down from above, breaking into little stars as they hit buildings, covering the crowd. All the humans hit by the stars were knocked out, hitting the ground in jumbles. Frisk deftly dodged the barrage.

She turned to look at the carriage. "I swear to God, that child..."

The agents converged as Undyne and Papyrus stepped from the carriage. Princess Asriel caught my eye from inside and waved as the door was shut.

"All right, everyone! Agents! Get the vampire pawns into custody! We'll sort them out at Precinct Eleven! Convoy continue to the fair grounds!" She patted me on the shoulder. "See you guys in a bit."

At the fair ground, Princess Asriel daintily stepped from the carriage and put up a parasol to block the sun. She smiled demurely. "Thank you for your help, Frisk. Bones." She nodded to me.

Frisk crossed her arms over her chest. "That was dangerous, Asriel."

Her smiled went wide and devilish. "For whom?"

I scratched her behind her left ear and she giggled. The twins ran up and dragged her off, complaining about her getting to have all the fun. Two of the royal guards quickly followed after them.

Undyne caught up to us. "Thank you for your help. I'm sorry about Asriel being there. She's really good at wheedling her way into what ever she wants."

I shrugged. "It'll be a useful trait when she ascends the throne."

Undyne nodded with a sigh. "That it will." She handed us our bags. "I brought your things along. Feel free to use the guard tent over there. Papyrus is in there waiting."

After a quick change, I checked the photo. It was still safe in the pocket. The twins met us outside the tent.

"So now what?" Chara asked.

My Frisk sighed. "Let's head back to Shipworks and see if we can hunt up any other clues."

"We'll come too," Frisk said. "Mom and Dad don't need us for at least two hours."

I looked up and found Asgore and Toriel striding toward us.

Asgore picked my Frisk up in a big bear hug. "Thank you for your help, Frisk."

She hugged him back. "It's no problem."

Toriel hugged her next and while Frisk returned the gesture, I could see that look strange look she had when interacting with any Toriel. Goat Mom wasn't a part of our world and some part of that echoed in Frisk like a deep loss.

"Do you mind if the boys come back to Shipworks with us?" she asked.

"Go on you two," Toriel said. "Just try not to ruin your nice clothes before coming back for the ceremony."

Both boys saluted their mother smartly before coming over to me. A short cut got us to the Shipworks hangar.

Frisk looked in on Dr. Gaster and found him hard at work on the ship. "Hey, Dings? Can I look around your office for a bit?"

He nodded absently. "Yes. Yes. Just don't touch the papers on my desk."

She and the boys dug around in the office for an hour and came out empty handed. She huffed and sat next to me on a bench in the hangar.

"We stopped an evil secret society and saved the _Pearl,_ but we're still no closer to figuring out where Sans and Papyrus are."

The bell over the door rang as it opened. Sans and Papyrus walked in, bags in one hand and fishing poles in the other. They both stopped and looked around.

"*did we miss something? was there an anomaly?" Sans asked.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" Chara yelled.

"*on vacation. we went fishing on rushing run in our boat, t _oriel's pearl_."

My Frisk blinked twice and fell to her knees laughing, arms wrapped around her stomach.

Gaster had the decency to look embarrassed. "You were..." He pulled a calendar out of his pocket and rapidly flipped through the pages. "Oh..."

Steam's brother put his hands on his hips. "HAVEN'T YOU TWO LEARNED YET THAT IF THE DOCTOR NEEDS US AND WE ARE NOT AROUND, TO ASK UNDYNE? SHE KNEW WHERE WE WERE AND EVEN JOINED US FOR A DAY."

"I wondered why Undyne gave us that weird look earlier." My phone vibrated and I looked at the text. The Chevelle was done. "All right. Time to go home. I've got to pick up my car at Max's."

Frisk wiped the tears from her eyes. "What color did you pick?"

"You wanna come with me and see?"

She nodded before exchanging hugs with the twins and promising Steam and his brother that we would be back to visit at another time.

Paps put his hand on my shoulder. "THIS WAS QUITE AN INTERESTING ADVENTURE."

"Would you like to do it again?"

"HERE, YES. OTHER DIMENSIONS... NOT SO MUCH."

I smiled and patted his hand. When Frisk stepped up to me, I put my arm around her and took us home. After stowing our gear, Frisk and I took a short cut over to Max's garage. I knocked on the back door.

"Come on in, Bones!"

I held the door open for Frisk and followed her in.

Max stood up and shook her hand. "You must be Frisk. Is that a family name?"

She shook her head. "I'm named after one of my dad's army buddies."

"Nice. You guys ready to see the car?" He led us out to the show room. "I took a little liberty with the job and added some racing stripes."

My jaw dropped. The Chevelle was a beautiful dark blue with a long racing stripe over the roof on the passenger side and a short one on the hood coming down from the driver's side.

Frisk covered her mouth with one hand, smile wide. "Oh my God! That's awesome!" She turned to me. "It looks like you!"

Max looked at me, waiting.

"Oh man. I love it!" I shook his hand. "Let's settle up so I can drive her home."

After paying and grabbing the keys, I held the door for Frisk and she slid in, buckling while Max opened the show room doors so we could drive out. Frisk waved to him as I pulled the car out and pulled onto the road.

"So have you thought of a name for her yet?" Frisk asked, her hand running over the leather.

I smiled. "I'm thinking of naming her Dana _Skull_ y."

She swatted my arm.

Author's Notes:

1\. Icehouse is a real game and you can check it out at Looney Labs. I almost had them play Binary Homeworlds, which is another pyramid game, but it's only two player and Icehouse can have up to five players at a shot.

2\. "She shrimped the the left." The Shrimp is an actual self defense move and if you take rape self-defense classes, you will be taught how to do what Frisk does when the vampire jumps her.


	5. Ep 5 - Red Letter Day

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans and Gaster!Papyrus are the creations of Borurou. Underfell is a community built AU. Fase is from Technoletale. The story is copyright to me.

1\. This is a full on Underfell episode. While I've stuck to much of the canon, I have filled in my own work and that stuff should not influence how ever you headcanon Underfell. It's just what makes sense in the context of this particular series.

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, alcohol use, and _**serious**_ nightmare fuel. Underfell!Sans has a serious mouth on him and drops f-bombs liberally throughout his dialogue.

Ep. 5 - Red Letter Day

Red's Frisk bounced excitedly next to me on the balcony of her tree house, watching her brother's prep to spar against my Frisk.

"So when are they gonna start?"

I put my boney hand on her head, stilling her. "In a minute. They're almost ready."

Agent Franklin groaned. "Does the nausea ever go away?" he asked between dry heaves.

"Yeah. Most people acclimate after their fifth or sixth jump," I said.

"But Frisk was good the first time round, right?" Franklin huffed.

I laughed. "Oh hell no! It was a solid year and a half before she stopped puking! And it didn't matter how much ginger candy she ate, the nausea was always bad."

"You jerk! Don't make fun of her! She's not here to defend herself!" Frisk said, swatting my arm.

I ruffled her hair. "No worries, kiddo. You can rat me out later."

Franklin sat up properly and washed his mouth out with some water. "Ugh." He looked over the edge. "Are we going to be okay up here?"

Frisk pointed down the tree. "See that glow around the tree? Its a barrier. It will keep anything that might hit the tree from damaging it."

"Will Frisk be okay? I mean, that Sans and Papyrus look like mean customers."

Frisk giggled. "My brothers are pretty bad ass, but I've seen her beat them up pretty hard core." She made a face. "I'm pretty sure that's how they met."

Franklin stood and leaned over the railing to get a better view of the forest floor. "It's February here, isn't it? Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Like every other monster kid, I'm home schooled. Monsters only go to a school-school for the equivalent of human high school and college."

He looked incredulous and pointed at the skelebros. "And _they_ teach you?"

"Sans teaches math and science. Papyrus teaches history and language arts. I get music lessons and phys. ed. from Undyne. And there's a Sans who's a great artist. He comes by once a week. They're all really good teachers." She smiled.

He pointed at Sans. " _He_ teaches you math and science."

Frisk rolled her eyes. "He is the Royal Scientist."

I snorted. "So he decided to take Asgore's offer, huh? How's Alphys enjoying her new job?"

"She said working at the human university was less demanding, but way more political. She doesn't mind it though because it means she has more to work with for her research."

"How's Papyrus handling it?"

"Hates it. He liked it better when he could yell at Sans all day." She shivered and put up her hood.

Franklin yanked on her hood. "This thing is way too big for you, kid. Don't you have clothes that fit?"

"Huh?" She lifted her arms. "My clothes fit just fine. This is Sans' jacket. He says it's good luck if I wear it." She smiled through the fur lining.

"But what about your parents? Why don't you live with them?"

"Who do you mean? King Asgore and Queen Toriel? That's not a good idea. I mean, Toriel's most of the way toward normal and Asgore is way better than he used to be. But it's still not a good idea."

Flowey popped up next to her foot and climbed up to her shoulder. "Totally not a good idea."

"And dad... well, Dr. Gaster, is too wrapped up in his research to raise another kid."

"I meant your-"

Flowey and I quickly motioned for Franklin to stop. He fell silent and frowned.

Korn's "Freak on a Leash" blared from Frisk's pocket. She pulled out a phone and turned it off before waving at her brothers. "Sans! Your alarm went off!"

Red looked up. "That was for dinner. Go back over to the house and check on it. If it's done, just turn it to low. It if isn't, stir it and throw in another cup of broth."

"Can do!" She took a step backward and disappeared.

"What the hell?! Where did she go?!"

"Chill, James. She teleported."

He moved to stand next to me. "So what's the deal with her human parents?"

"You've got kids. Tell me, just by looking, not hearing her talk, how old she is."

"Seven. Eight at the most."

"She's twelve. Her growth is severely stunted. She's prone to serious infections and hypoglycemia on her worst days. And still needs to deal with anemia and tremors on her best. Sans puts his hoodie on her not because it's good luck but because there's fire magic in it. Her entire wardrobe is fire magic treated to keep hypothermia away. Those are all caused by severe malnutrition. That's why she doesn't live with her human parents."

"Shit."

"Yeah." I leaned on the railing. "You wanna know what really sucks? She's brilliant. A legitimate genius. Teleporting requires the ability to handle complicated math and she does it with ease." I sighed. "Red didn't intend to teach her to teleport. She just asked and he showed her the equations figuring she wouldn't be able to figure them out. Joke's on him."

Frisk reappeared and bumped into Franklin. "Hey! You're standing in my spot."

"Sorry." He moved.

She smiled at him and sat down on the edge, arms hanging over the bottom rail.

"You feelin' all right, kid?"

She nodded. "Just tired."

"She's okay," Flowey said.

"You sure about that?" he asked.

"Of course. I'm her early warning detection system."

Frisk mumbled something.

"What was that?" I asked.

She looked up a me, a red shadow in her eyes. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Wasn't talking to you." She smiled and the red faded.

On the forest floor, they were ready.

Frisk smiled the 'Undyne Smile.' She threw the first punch, taking Papyrus completely by surprise and flattening him in the snow. Sans snickered and short cut behind her. She turned and kicked. He dodged and she followed, continuing to strike even as he moved just out of reach, hands in his pockets. He lifted his left hand and she dived to the ground to avoid the bone attack. He turned the bones red and stood still, letting the attack fly through him. She swept his feet out from under him.

Papyrus grabbed her from behind and tossed her. She flipped in mid-air, keeping her feet behind her as she hit a tree and used it to springboard back at him. She slammed into his chest, sending him back to the ground. Papyrus gave off a strange howl that sounded like delight more than pain.

The familiar shing of Red's magic filled the air, lifting Frisk from his brother and tossing her to the left. She rolled in the snow and dived behind a tree to hide. Both brothers sent a bone strike at the tree and immediately stepped back to back when she didn't appear from behind it.

I searched the ground, looking for Frisk. Where had she gone?

The brothers waited, eyes wary. A tree branch full of snow hit the ground and both of them threw volleys at the branch. Before they realized their mistake, Frisk shot Sans with four foam core rounds, locking his arms and legs. Papyrus turned and swung at her with a large bone like it was a sword. She ducked the first swing, dropping her gun, and dodged the next before reaching to her belt and pulling a self extending staff to defend herself.

Papyrus' eyes gleamed brightly, his smile wide with a delirious kind of happiness. He had height and strength on her, but lacked her finesse and speed. He made up for it by making his strikes count and every time one connected, it rattled her and cracked at the armor in her uniform. It was a tactic meant to tire out an opponent and wear down their defenses. Frisk was running out of options.

She threw her staff at him and ducked under his swing when he knocked it away, tackling him. Before he could recover, she rolled to her gun and came up firing, locking his arms and legs in hard foam. She stood and popped a fist full of Monster Candy.

"*done already?" Red asked.

She turned to him, gun level.

He tossed a broken piece of hard foam to the side and smiled. "*we both know you don't have any ammo left."

She put up the gun and flicked her wrist, springing a knife into her hand. She rushed him and he dodged, hands still in his pockets.

"Here comes the singing," Frisk whispered.

"Only when fighting your brother," I said.

"Our drill sergeant hated when she did that," Franklin muttered.

"This is where is gets really cool," the kiddo said. She was gripping the railing hard now, eyes locked on her brother and her other self.

Red stopped dodging and started hitting back, matching her blow for block, block for blow. He followed the beat of her song, singing along with her. It was starting to look less like a fight and more like a dance. But I knew how this dance ended. Red grabbed Frisk's wrist and pulled her toward him, eye glowing a blood red. He was rewarded with a quick knee to the sternum, doubling him over. He let go of her wrist and she put an elbow into the back of his neck. Red hit the ground with a groan.

"*man, she beats the shit out of me every time," Red said from where he stood next to me.

"What the-?"

Franklin looked from were Red lay on the ground and where he stood next to me on the balcony. Sans smiled, all sharp teeth, gold tooth gleaming.

"He can bi-locate," I said. "You know, you might actually beat her one day if you stay completely in the moment."

He looked at me, smile suddenly gone. "*impossible." He looked back down at himself laughing with Frisk over Papyrus' complaining as she helped him out of the foam. "*and i suspect that if c didn't limit her lv, blue wouldn't even have a shot."

"But isn't the Prime Sans super powerful?" Franklin asked.

"Yeah," the Frisk at my feet said. "But he calls Red his 'equal opposite.'" She looked up, one eye red. "If Red can't beat her, Blue likely can't either."

Sans' eyes narrowed and he held two fingers up to his eye sockets then pointed at her. "*i'm watching you, chara."

The red faded away and Frisk looked beyond tired, eyes heavy-lidded.

Red sighed and extricated her from the railing to pick her up. "*dammit, kiddo. stop entertaining him. you don't have enough energy as it is." He glared at Flowey. "*i know you miss him, asriel, but letting chara possess her even a little steals more than she has to give."

"She's fine!" Flowey barked. He nuzzled Frisk's cheek and wrapped more vines around her. "She just needs a nap. She had lessons with Undyne this morning and she hasn't napped yet."

"Please don't yell at him, Sans. Chara just wanted to talk," Frisk said sleepily. He said nothing and short cut away with her and Flowey. The second him with my Frisk disappeared.

"Everything he's got in there really isn't printed on the label is it?" Franklin asked.

I shook my head. "No. No it isn't. I think that's why he and my Frisk get along so well. Just don't go mistaking him for an edgy fluff ball. He's deeply caring in unexpected ways to those he's given his loyalty and that's it. Everyone else is garbage at best."

Frisk looked up at the tree house. "You guys ready for some dinner?"

"Oh God, no," Franklin looked green.

I chuckled. "I could go for whatever Red's cookin,' but I think James will pass." I looked at him. "Ready to head into town?" I got a nod and we climbed down from the tree house to take a snowy walk into Snowdin. Inside the cabin, Frisk was sleeping on the couch, Flowey sitting on her legs playing a game on a handheld. Papyrus stopped and watched her sleep for a moment before disappearing into his room.

Sans poked his head out of the kitchen. "*who's eatin'?"

Frisk and I raised our hands. Franklin waved him off.

Sans snickered. "*noob." He looked at Frisk. "*hey, babe? there are extra chairs in the shed. would you mind bringing them in?"

"Sure," Frisk said. Sans tossed her the keys and she went out the front door as Papyrus came back down stairs in civvies.

He leaned over his little sister and tapped her shoulder. "WAKE UP, FRISK. IT IS DINNER TIME."

She rubbed her eyes and sleepily trudged to the table to climb into a chair. My Frisk came in the door with three extra chairs and we sat down while Sans brought in bowls of beef stew.

"How's the new job treating you? Happy to be back at the lab?" my Frisk asked between bites.

"*yeah. i forgot how much i missed it. the only thing i don't like is dad randomly appearing to check my work."

"You are lazy," I said.

He pointed a spoon at me. "*look who's calling the kettle black. i'm lazy about things i don't care about, bud."

"SUCH AS CLEANING. YOU STILL HAVEN'T PICKED UP THAT SOCK."

"*i picked it up yesterday."

"AND THEN PUT IT BACK DOWN. PUT IT IN THE LAUNDRY BASKET."

He shrugged. "*welp. if that's what you wanted you could have just said so." The sock floated through the air and landed on the floor next to the basket outside the bathroom door.

Papyrus stiffened and inhaled noisily. Sans gave Papyrus his patented Infuriating Smile(TM). They looked at each other, tension building.

"Hey," the kiddo said between sleepy bites. "If you're going to start arguing this soon into dinner, you might as well just hit the bedroom now."

I snorted, Franklin choked, and Frisk put her head down on the table to laugh. Papyrus had the grace to look embarrassed. His older brother chortled like a maniac.

Papyrus glared at him. "I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE HAPPY TO BE BACK AT THE LAB," he gritted out.

Sans smile turned predatory. "*thanks, paps! i appreciate it."

The kiddo pointed her spoon at Sans. "Stop being a pain." She looked around the table. "Pass my medicine organizer, please."

Papyrus handed it to her and she popped three pills at the same time with a big gulp of water. She looked down at the organizer, tapping the individual boxes.

"I'm going to need refills on my vitamins and iron supplements."

Sans pulled a notebook out of his back pocket, jotted something down, and stuffed it back in. "*i'll take you tomorrow. did you drink enough water today?"

She nodded.

"*good."

The door crashed open and Undyne strode in. "Hey, Nerds!" She swatted Papyrus on the shoulder. "Meeting tonight."

"I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN."

"Can I come?" Frisk asked.

Undyne ruffled her her. "Sorry, Punk. Not today."

"*is that anyway to talk to her royal highness?"

She looked at Sans. "Watch it, ass-wipe. It's been six years and I'm still mad at you. What smells good?"

"*beef stew. want a bowl?"

"Yeah."

He stood. "*anyone want seconds?"

My Frisk handed him her bowl with a smile. He winked at her and disappeared into the kitchen.

Undyne stole his chair. "What's with the visit?" She looked at Agent Franklin. "And who's this guy?"

"The usual and this is James. He's a new recruit to the facility, but I've known him since high school," my Frisk answered.

Undyne raised an eyebrow. "You any good?"

"My version of you hasn't managed to kill me yet during training," Franklin answered.

"Pfft. She's a pussy."

Sans handed her a bowl of stew and she tipped it up, chugging it in one go. "Not bad. I should stop by more often." She stood and ruffled the kiddo's hair again. "See you later, brat." She headed out the door.

Papyrus sighed. "EXCUSE ME. I HAVE A MEETING TO ATTEND." He followed Undyne.

"What's with the six year grudge?" Franklin asked.

"*i royally fucked up politics in the undergound six years ago." He pulled a bottle of mustard out of no where and took a swig. "*the dreemurr family has held kingship among monsters through brutality and fear for hundreds of years. everyone kneels to asgore because he's the biggest baddest guy here. i wiped the floor with his ass and the only reason i didn't kill him is because the kiddo here begged me not too. in the span of three minutes i went from being papyrus' lazy ass brother to the scariest mother fucker in the underground. that large portions of the monsters down here were swayed by frisk's kindness to be loyal to her didn't help."

"Declaring me his daughter and giving me a title was a political move made to consolidate power," Frisk said. She pushed her bowl away. "I'm officially 'Her Royal Highness, the Princess Frisk Lucida Gaster ap Dreemurr.'"

"Gaster?"

"*frisk's official records here in the underground list my mom and dad, lucida and wing dings gaster, as her parents."

"And named her after your mother."

He frowned. "*yeah. that was meant to be a dig." He took another swig of mustard. "*she died during an argument that got violent. dad resigned from being the royal scientist after her funeral and locked himself away in his research. i left the lab and took up working as a sentry." He looked pointedly at Agent Franklin. "*we don't talk about it, so don't mention it in front of my brother."

"Understood."

"*good. let's move on to why i invited you here." He sat up and put his clasped hands on the table. "*someone or something has been stalking frisk. we've caught glimpses of it where ever we go above or underground with the exception of the house and the lab. even so, we have an alarmed dummy in her bed and she sleeps with paps or i at night and in the lab she is always with me or dad. the royal guard is discussing how best to capture it tonight."

Flowey climbed up on Frisk's shoulder. "It's a bipedal humanoid and it knows how our defenses in the Underground work."

"*alphys cameras have caught nothing but blurs at best. whatever it is knows camera placement and how to avoid being seen."

A terrible thought occurred to me. "What if we're dealing with a monster from a universe similar to this one?"

"*it would have to be a boss monster and one with either intimate knowledge of the royal guard and/or the camera placement."

My Frisk sat back in her chair. "That narrows it down a bit. Does it show up in any specific places?"

*we catch glimpses of it most often in town when there are lots of people about. and it doesn't matter which town: snowdin, the ruins, the core, new home."

"Has it tried to kidnap you?" my Frisk asked.

The kiddo nodded. "It grabbed me from behind in New Home when I was grocery shopping and again while with Toriel in the Ruins. Flowey and I didn't get a good look at it either time. It was as tall as Papyrus or Undyne, very fast, and dropped me when others came to help."

"*we've been trying to find a way to lure it out without using frisk as bait and so far we've been unsuccessful."

"So just use me as bait already."

"*no can do, sweetheart."

"Dad said my heart is fine now and passes stress tests without any problems."

"*your heart condition being fixed is no reason to put you on the chopping block. i got real tired, real fast, of you dying on a regular basis from a bad ticker. i'm not intentionally putting you in harm's way."

I put my hand on the kiddo's head. "Just because it's a easy option doesn't mean it's a good idea."

"We could call the great fem-puter and ask for an anomaly sweep," Franklin said.

"Oh please don't call it that," I said. "But yeah. Calling Fase is a good idea."

My Frisk pulled out her phone. "Hello, Fase. Can you sweep Red's universe for anomalies? Yes. I can wait." She sucked on the inside of her cheek. "C? Hook in. Fase is transferring data to you."

"Got it."

A hologram map of the Underground appeared on the table with a glowing dots in several places.

"The anomaly is currently on the move," C said. "So Fase can't track it without being more fully here. All of the lighted spaces on the map are points of interest or locations of potential hide outs."

"That's a lot of hidey-holes to check," Franklin said. "There's no way to do it before night fall. If we dismantle the ones around Snowdin we can force the stalker into a smaller area or even force it to strike before it wants too."

"Show it's hand," I said.

"Exactly."

Red pointed at Franklin. "*i like you. james was it?"

"Yeah."

"*welcome aboard."

James smiled, but it didn't look happy. "Let's get rid of these three tonight." He indicated the three closest to Snowdin.

"*bones? take this info to the meeting. it's over at undyne's place."

I nodded.

"James and I will handle the the three points of interest," my Frisk said. She stood. "Just hang with your brother, okay? We'll all be back soon."

I short cut over to Undyne's place and knocked on the door.

"We're BUSY!"

"Fase has pinpointed all the hidey-holes the stalker is using."

Undyne threw open the door. "That creepy bitch has a bead on this? Why didn't you say so? Get in here!" She grabbed the front of my jacket to pull me in and I raised a brow bone. She snorted, let go, and I walked in the door.

"Give us the map again, C."

The hologram burst to life on my shoulder before laying down a hologram map across the table. "All of the lit points are places with anomalous materials, either stashes or hiding places. My Frisk and Agent Franklin are taking out the three closest to Snowdin right now."

"CAN FASE PINPOINT THE STALKER?"

"Fase needs a physical presence here to do that. All it said was that the anomaly was on the move," C answered.

Undyne looked over the map. "Here's the plan. Since there are only a few in the Core, RG and RG take those."

"Got it." RG01 said.

"Since there are a ton in Waterfall, the dogs take those." The dog guards nodded.

"That leaves Hotland for Papyrus and I." She sneered. "I HATE Hotland." She frowned menacingly at the assembled. "I'm not looking to capture here. If you find the stalker and it puts up a fight, eliminate it. Only take it into custody if it surrenders first. After you have cleared your assigned area, come back here for debrief. Get going."

"YES MA'AM!" The guard headed out, Papyrus staying behind with Undyne.

"Thanks for the assist," Undyne said.

"You're welcome. Are you going to be okay in Hotland?" I asked.

"OF COURSE! I've got Papyrus with me. He can handle all the work!"

Papyrus rolled his eyes and smiled. "I'LL BE BACK AFTER WE FINISH. TELL MY SISTER TO HAVE SOME TEA WAITING FOR ME."

"Sure thing." I short cut back to the house. The table was clean and the kiddo was surrounded by textbooks.

Red sat in front of her, holding up four fingers and pointing to one. "*plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter and has properties unlike those of the other states. it is the most abundant form of matter in the universe that we currently know to exist."

"What about dark matter? Wouldn't that be more abundant than plasma?"

He shook his head. "*it's still a hypothetical." He smiled. "*we won't be covering dark matter for a long while yet. reading ahead are we?"

"Yeah." She shoved a pile of books to the side and grabbed one from the middle of another pile. "The book on gravity you got me last month was really good and it talked a lot about gravitational lensing to detect dark matter."

I put my hand on her head. "You're twelve, kiddo. Slow down."

"*she's hard to stop when she gets interested in something." He pointed at her. "*it's why i haven't taught you magic yet."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Paps said he'd like you to make him a cup of tea for when he get's home."

"Okay!" She jumped up and ran into the kitchen.

I smiled at Red. "You're working on dark matter?"

"*yeah. the kid sniffed that out pretty quick when she over heard me discussing the construction of a particle collider with asgore. she's rushing it so she can help in the lab. when it's up and running, i'll call all sans-es over for a look." He took a drink of mustard. "*the guard taking care of the rest of the hidey-holes?"

"Yeah."

"*good. maybe that will get the stalker out of hiding."

My Frisk and Agent Franklin came in the door. She handed me a bag. "We cleaned out all three spots and we found this. Look familiar?"

I opened the bag and pulled out a robotic arm. There was a blaster symbol similar to the badges Frisk, Franklin, and I wore stamped on it. "This is from Verdana's and Ravie's collapsed timeline."

"*verdana and ravie?"

"Two baby-bones. Their mother stuck them and their grandmother in the time machine and told them to stay there until she or Sans came back. Neither did. Frisk and I got them out just before their universe disappeared. It was complete luck that we found them at all." I held up the robotic arm. "The Gaster of that world was heavily into robotics and cybernetic modifications. Every pile of dust we found had at least one cybernetic part sticking out of it."

Sans took the arm from me and looked it over. "*dad would want to see this."

"Papyrus still not back yet?" James asked.

"*nah."

Frisk leaned over Sans and dug in his pockets. He lifted his arms, surprised.

"*hey, sugar plum! gettin' a bit handsy?"

She pulled out his phone and started texting. "No. Just texting your brother terrible puns."

"*that's right. give me a bad time tonight."

She hit send and handed him the phone. He looked at it for a minute before snickering. The kiddo came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea just as Papyrus came in the door.

"Ohh! Perfect timing again!"

He sat down and she put the cup in front of him.

"THANK YOU. GET READY FOR BED. IT IS GETTING LATE."

She kissed the top of his skull, earning a soft smile from her sharp toothed brother, and ran upstairs. She stopped at her door and looked down at us. "Frisk? Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Sure." She looked at Sans. "Do you want us in your room?"

"*yeah. i figured she'd ask so i've already cleaned."

"YOU WILL CLEAN FOR HER, BUT NOT FOR ME? I SEE WHERE I STAND IN YOUR PRIORITIES."

"*same place i stand in your's, paps. right under frisk." He gave me his best lecherous smile. "*i call dibs on the bean bag chair in my room."

"Are you ever going to stop pretending that you have a thing for my girl?"

"*not as long as she thinks it's funny, bud." He winked at Frisk and she rolled her eyes at him before heading up stairs.

It wasn't long before the house quieted. Both Frisks went into Sans room while Papyrus arranged the pullout on the couch for James. Sans and I sat at the table with our condiments of choice.

I sipped my hot sauce. "So am I going to hear you and Paps going at it over Frisk's text tonight?"

"*she didn't text paps. she texted-"

A heavy thump came from upstairs followed by glass shattering. Sans short cut up the stairs to his room. James, Papyrus, and I headed out the back door. Frisk was struggling to keep her attacker pinned to the ground in the dark. It shoved her aside and rolled to it's feet. Black tentacles shot through the trees behind the house, grabbing it and holding it immobile. A tall, slender skeleton in a long lab coat stepped out of the woods, hands clasped behind his back, red eyes flickering.

Sans leaned out of the broken window, his Frisk peaking out while being careful not to touch the glass.

"*she texted dad."

My Frisk stood, cradling one arm. "You're a little late to the party, Dings."

"Really?" Gaster raised a brow bone. "I'd say I'm right on time."

"You okay, Babe?" I asked.

"I think my arm is broken. My shoulder is definitely dislocated from the fall. Would you give me a hand with that?"

"Sure." I pushed her arm back into the socket with a wet pop. She gritted her teeth, but didn't make a sound. I ran my phalanges down her arm, feeling for a break. "Your arm is fine. You've got a couple nasty gashes from the glass. Why didn't you have your jacket on?"

"I wasn't expecting to go through a window tonight."

"If you would disinfect and bandage the wounds, I will care for them back at the Lab. I'm eager to work with my new specimen," Gaster said.

James tapped my shoulder while Papyrus wrapped Frisk's arm. "What's Slenderman over there saying?"

I snorted. "Slenderman?" I thought about it. "Yeah. He does a good impression of Slendy. The best way to describe it is that he's speaking the same language you and I are, but using a different typeface to do it. Kind of like trying to read cursive when all you've ever seen is print. Your brain will make sense of it, but only after conversing with him for long periods of time."

"So his being here means you won't turn into him in the Core?"

"Yeah. I'm only affected by a Gaster's influence if I'm in a world were he was spread across time and space."

"Let's get a good look at you, shall we?" Gaster hummed. The tentacles moved the stalker into the light coming from the house. A monstrosity of metal, wires, and blue scales came into view. Frisk and Papyrus both stepped back.

"Oh my God," she whispered, hand covering her mouth.

The left half of Undyne's face and both eyes were gone. In their place was a complex system of machinery and whirling yellow orbs. A grate took the place of her mouth. Both legs were gone, replaced with metal prosthesis made to to give her speed and lift. The left arm from the elbow down was replaced with a strange multi-tool appendage.

I looked up at Red. He had a hand over the kiddo's eyes, her face held against his shirt. "*don't look. just don't look," he whispered. Her hand fisted his shirt.

"Fascinating," Gaster said. He walked around the stalker. "Oh I will be up late tonight, won't I? You are quite the specimen." The tentacles covered her completely and she was gone. Gaster turned to Frisk holding out a hand. "Shall we take care of your wounds?"

She stepped forward.

"I want to go!" the kiddo yelled. She short cut right next to Frisk and grabbed a hold of her shirt. "Please?"

Gaster crossed his arms over his chest. "You are in your night gown, child. Your bed is in the house." When she didn't back down from the intensity of his gaze, he sighed. "Very well. Get dressed. I would rather not have to go through capturing my specimen again simply because you caught your death of cold."

She brightened and disappeared.

Gaster looked up at Sans. They stared at each other, silent.

"You're both doing well with her."

The brothers eyed him suspiciously. Sans short cut down to his father. "*it's not like you to offer praise."

"I praise you well enough when you earn it."

The kiddo reappeared, properly dressed, a bag over her shoulder. "Ready."

Gaster nodded. He stepped up to both Frisks and put his arms around them. They were covered in a mass of black tentacles and disappeared. I held out my arm to Franklin and short cut the two of us over to inside the upper part of the Lab.

"Well James. You wondered before we got here if we were going to see some crazy shit in this universe."

"This whole place is crazy shit. The worst part is not knowing the details that connect all the dots. What's with the brothers?"

"They're siblings."

"Do they hate each other?"

"They're siblings."

"Why are they so suspicious of their father?"

"They're family."

"What's up with the constant sexual harassment of our Frisk?"

"Red is terrible at telling jokes."

"Why is she putting up with it?"

"Because she knows that she's one of the few people he gives a shit about."

Sans and Papyrus appeared behind him.

"Why would someone like Red even keep his Frisk around let alone be responsible for her well being?"

"BECAUSE IN THIS WORLD, LOYALTY IS EVERYTHING. IT COLORS EVERY PART OF OUR LIVES. WHO YOU DECLARE YOUR LOYALTIES TO AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO ACT ON THEM COMMANDS GREATER RESPECT HERE THAN SIMPLY BEING BRUTAL. FRISK HAS EARNED THE LOYALTY OF THE UNDERGROUND THROUGH KINDNESS AND GREAT PERSONAL SACRIFICE. AND SANS OWES HER ALL OF HIS LOYALTY."

Red looked at his brother, but remained silent.

Papyrus pulled out his phone. "WE HAVE CAUGHT THE STALKER. YOU MAY... NOT WANT TO SEE IT. I WISH THAT I HAD NOT." He was silent for a moment, listening. "WE ARE AT THE LAB. I WILL WAIT FOR YOU."

"You sure it's a good idea for Undyne to see..." James trailed off.

"NO. NO I DO NOT. BUT SHE IS MY SUPERIOR OFFICER. I AM UNABLE TO STOP HER."

"*come on. time's a wasting." Red hit the button for the elevator and down he, James, and I went. The True Lab in this universe was massive. Gaster expanded the original floor plan one hundred percent. The Fell Alphys made multiple expansions during her tenure including two sub basements. Red was in the process of installing a particle collider. The entire place was brightly lit, clean, and smelled heavily of disinfectant.

"It looks like a cross between a science lab and a hospital," James said.

"It kind of is."

We found Frisk, Frisk, and Gaster in a medical bay. The kiddo was holding a tray covered in broken bits of glass and blood while Gaster worked on Frisk's left arm. Flowey was perched on the kiddo's shoulder, flinching as the doctor worked.

"*what? no complaints about your work being interrupted?" Red prodded while he washed and sterilized his hands.

"Treating the wounds of someone who received them in the act of protecting my daughter is not an interruption, Sans." He cast a side long glance at his son. "I would appreciate a hand."

"*already washing up."

I leaned against the wall, staying out of the way. "How ya feeling, babe?"

"The anesthetic killed the pain a little bit ago."

"Good."

Red pulled on a pair of gloves and began work on the other arm. "*where's the stalker?"

"In containment." Tentacles slithered out from underneath Gaster's coat making a seat for the kiddo. She sat down, still holding the tray.

"My list of things I didn't expect to see today keeps growing," Franklin said.

"*hey bones? could you grab a jar of spider cider out of the fridge and pour a glass for sugar puss? the kitchen's through that door." He nodded to the door next to me.

"That's a new one," Frisk said.

"*i'm expanding my repertoire."

I shook my head and grabbed the cider. Gaster dropped his tweezers on the tray his daughter held. Sans gave the other arm one more sweep and motioned for Frisk to drink the cider. The wounds closed as Papyrus came in with Undyne.

Gaster took the tray from Frisk and dumped the contents into a bio-hazard box followed by his gloves and washed his hands, Sans following suit. The tentacles lifted Frisk so that she was eye to eye with her father. "It is in your best interest not to see the specimen. It is now very late. Go into my bedroom and get some sleep."

She hugged him around the neck. "Good night."

He smiled and hugged her back. "Good night, Frisk." He set her down and shooed her off. When the door to his apartment clicked shut, his smile turned dark, eyes flickering brightly. "Come along!"

The stalker was suspended in a green liquid filled chamber, appendages chained to the top and bottom of the inside. It constantly tested the restraints, pulling and struggling in them. Several monsters were working around it, whispering excitedly about their observations. They lined up when Gaster strode in, each face filled with a red eagerness.

Undyne glared at the mechanized version of herself in utter disgust.

When it saw her, it screeched, voice echoing loudly inside the chamber. The containment unit vibrated fiercely.

"Though it is good to know you can vocalize, do be quiet," Gaster said, voice like silken death.

The stalker shrieked louder and Gaster's eyes narrowed. "Prepare for containment breach."

The lab workers scattered, some hiding, some taking up positions to fight.

"Containment breach is right." A grown female Chara with red eyes walked around the side of the tube. On her jacket was the black and green badge. "She's quite something isn't she? One of my favorite creations. I've always wanted to see how she'd fair against such devastating company. Shall we?" She slammed the side of the tube with a small pointed device in her fist, causing a fracture. The stalker shrieked again and the unit breached completely, chains breaking as it leaped free.

"But one on seven isn't anywhere close to a fair fight. So I brought a few more of my creations. Have fun!"

Insane cybernetic versions of Papyrus, Sans, Gaster, and Frisk ported into the room. Chara ran out of the containment area toward Gaster's apartment.

C burst to life on Frisk's shoulder. "I've got this! James and Dings! When you can, make a break for the apartment and secure the kiddo. Bones, take mecha-Frisk. Red, take metal-Papyrus. Frisk, take cyborg-Gaster. Papyrus, take robo-Sans. And Undyne... just go for yourself. You were going to anyway."

Gaster stepped back to James and covered them both in tentacles. They disappeared.

Papyrus moved first, summoning a large bone and slamming robo-Sans up the head hard enough to send him flying. A volley of bones came from the ceiling to hit the monstrosity in mid-air pinning it the ground and turning it to dust.

"*geez, paps! i didn't think you were that mad at me!"

Undyne tackled her mechanized twin, bowling it into the ground. She ripped the mechanized her apart, piece by piece until only dust fell through her fingers.

"Gaster Blasters! At six!" C yelled. Papyrus, Frisk, and I hit the ground. Red short cut to behind metal-Papyrus and shoved him into the beams, dusting him. Frisk rolled across the floor to cyborg-Gaster, grabbed him by his ankles and pulled. Before he could react, she pulled her utility knife from her pocket, reached up under his rib cage, and struck his soul directly. He was dust before she even pulled away.

The mecha-Frisk in front of me was shaking violently. The metal parts of his head sparking as he held it between what was left of his hands. It twitched and fell.

A robotic moan came from between metal teeth. "Sssssaaaaaaaaaans. Hhhhhhhheeelp-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p. Can't. Can't. Can't. Can't. Can't. Reset. Reset. Reset."

Undyne stood over it, arms crossed on her chest. "Is it a trick?"

"It's not a trick," C said. "It's legit. And a distraction."

"We don't know what Chara has done to him," I said.

Red motioned a few of the lab workers over. "*put this one in containment. we'll see what we can do for him later." He turned to head out the door, stopped, and looked back at them. "*observation only. hands to yourselves."

Frisk headed toward the apartment. "Come on!"

The apartment was empty with no sign of a struggle.

Frisk checked the bedroom. "The sheets are missing. Chara probably wrapped Frisk up in them while she was asleep and made off with her bound like that."

"Where are James and Gaster?" I asked. "C?"

"I'm not picking James up, so he's out of comm range. Let me get on the wi-fi." C made a face. "Nothing. Sans? Where is there no wi-fi in the Underground."

"*the only place you can't pick up a signal around here is the furthest edge of the ruins at our chara's grave."

"Let's head there."

"Everyone ready to short cut?" I asked. Frisk grabbed my arm. Undyne grabbed hers while Papyrus put his hand on his brother's shoulder. We cut to just the outer edge of the ruins. Frisk carefully peeked around the the portcullis at the flower covered grave. The kiddo was laying in the flowers. Gaster was unconscious to one side, James protecting him from a cyborg Muffet and her pet. Flowey was no where to be seen. I grabbed a hold of the mechanized Muffet and her pet, holding them with blue magic long enough for James to finish them.

Chara stood there, back to the action. "Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Those idiots need to hurry up. I can't finish this ritual without Sans."

Red stepped into the area. "*what ritual?"

Chara spun, twirling playfully. "Oh I knew you'd make it! None of my toys are really good enough to do more than distract. So how did it feel to kill Frisk again? Lovely I bet."

"*we didn't kill him."

She stopped and looked at him, confused. Like her perfectly scripted plan was suddenly scrapped. She shook herself, smile returning. "Oh well." She stepped over to the kiddo but there was a hitch in it.

"He's your Frisk isn't he?" I asked.

She giggled a little. "Well, yes. But I'm the one with the most Determination, so his existence doesn't mean that much." She dropped down next to Frisk's head. "She's pretty. You know how she would be prettier? If she was truly healthy!" She raised her arms and a magic circle glowed around them. "I can make that happen."

Red stepped forward and Papyrus grabbed his shoulder.

Her smile widened. "This is a True Reset. It would take her all the way back to her birth. And it would guarantee a loving family. A happy home. A healthy body." She pointed at Red. "All you need to do is give up your soul."

Red fell to his knees, and stared at the ground, slumped over. My Frisk knelt next to him and held his hand. He grasped it tightly, trembling.

"So what will it be? A happy, healthy Frisk in a world where monsters never see the light of day? Or do monsters go free at the expense of a broken little girl?"

Sans looked up. "*No."

Chara blinked. "What?"

"*I said, NO." He stood. "*she stays with me."

She threw her arms out dramatically. "So the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few?"

He snorted. "*oh, i could say that. make it sound good. but i honestly don't give a shit about other people. i'm a selfish bastard and i'm not giving up a member of my family. i don't care how great her life would be. Frisk STAYS."

Her face went ugly with hate. "Well then." She pulled out a knife.

Flowey's vines ripped through the ground grabbing Chara's arms and locking her to the ground. Frisk's hand shot up and grabbed her throat, eyes red.

"Hello, me." The grip tightened. "I suggest someone kill this little bitch before I inadvertently raise Frisk's LV."

"DONE." A bone slammed through her back and came out of her chest, dripping blood on Frisk's head.

"Ugh. If Frisk didn't need a bath before, she certainly needs one now."

Sans rushed over to her and those red eyes turned on him.

"Thank God you're a complete asshole. You're going to have to wake her up and get food in her. I really drained a lot of her energy." The red eyes looked away and then back. "Sorry."

The red faded from her eyes and Frisk fell into Red's chest. He gathered her up in his arms and held her close.

"Could someone give me a hand with the Doctor over here? I don't know enough about monsters to help him," James said.

Papyrus went to his father and roused him with a smart crack to the face.

Gaster glared at his son, but did not retaliate. He stood brushing off his clothing. "Are you all right, James?"

"I'm fine."

"Muffett's attacks were always... problematic. I apologize for being so careless."

"We're good."

Gaster smiled, red eyes flickering. "I believe you have earned the record for being the fastest to understand me."

"Um. Thanks."

Gaster and Papyrus walked over to Red and knelt next to him, both gently petting Frisk's head. Flowey crawled into her lap, laying his head on her chest.

James hurried over to Frisk and I. "Now what?"

"Now we wrap up loose ends," Frisk said. She yawned. "And get some sleep."

He looked over at the Gaster family. "They really love her, huh?"

"Yeah," Frisk answered. "And if I hadn't been here, Sans would have given up his soul."

"You think so?"

Frisk smiled. "I _know_ so. Even though he knew it was a trick. That accepting such an offer would, if it were true, completely collapse this universe, he'd take it." She looked over at them, still cuddled together. "She went through a hell of his own devising to save him. He would do anything to make that up to her." She sighed and patted James on the shoulder. "Keep that under your hat, Agent Franklin."

"What a strange place."

I nodded. "Hey guys! She needs to wake up and eat. And we could all use some sleep."

Gaster and the brothers stood. Sans nudged the kiddo awake. "*hey. wake up, sweetheart. you need to eat."

Frisk grumbled something.

"*grillby's? yeah. grillby's is still open." He looked over at us. "*meet you there. you coming, undyne?"

"Yeah." She trudged over.

"*what's the matter?"

"I'm just having trouble dealing the biggest bad ass around also being the biggest pussy."

Red rolled his eyes. Papyrus and Undyne put their hands on Red's shoulders and they disappeared. Gaster knelt next to Chara's body. He ripped the badge from her jacket before consuming her body whole in a smokeless, black flame. He held the badge out toward me.

"There's a piece of the void in this."

"It's how they travel around."

"They?"

"We don't have any specifics on 'them.' This is only the second encounter that we know of, but the cybernetic tech she was using came from a collapsed universe we saw just before collapse. I think there's a group out there trying to kill timelines."

Gaster frowned and strode up to us. "Do you know how they got a piece of the void in here?"

"I believe they killed a Frisk and used the Determination in their soul to do it."

His eyes narrowed. "You tried to replicate it before you knew what would happen, didn't you?"

I shrugged. "Didn't realize I was that transparent."

Gaster smiled. "You are a skeleton."

We both snorted in the exact same way.

"Dorks," Frisk said. "What are we going to do with the cyborg me?"

Gaster tapped his phalanges against the side of his skull. "I am very interested in studying this technology. If I promise not to harm him, will you let me study him while Fase isolates his universe and returns his reset?"

I let out a breath in a whoosh. "Only if the kiddo is there when you do it. You're less likely to traumatize someone when she's around."

"I agree to those terms." He put his hands behind his back and his tentacles crawled up around him. "I'll be keeping this badge. Sans will find it very useful. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lab to put back in order." He disappeared.

"Let's get something to eat," Frisk said.

"Is the Grillby's here as good as the one back home?"

"I've yet to meet a Grillby who couldn't cook," I said. I put my arm around Frisk and held out my hand to James before short cutting us back to Snowdin.

The kiddo was sleepily eating a burger while Dogamy and Dogaressa petted her. Red was sitting at the bar, leaning back against it, watching the dog marriage snuggle their 'princess puppy.' He handed me a bottle of hot sauce.

"What? Nothing stronger?"

He snorted. "*you're still on duty." He winked at Frisk. "*i saved you a seat, sugar blossom."

Frisk hopped onto the stool next to him and ordered. I sat next to her and drank my hot sauce while James sat on the other side of Red.

"Your brother doesn't like Grillby's?" James asked.

"*nope! i've learned that that's a thing with all papyrus-es."

"How did you guys meet? Was it arranged by Blue?"

*that's one way to put it. i'd dealt with blue on several occasions way back in the day. he came by a lot looking to recruit me. i didn't want to hear it. i was miserable and i was happy about it. after the kiddo was a permanent part of our lives he showed up again. he asked if i would feel better if frisk could beat the shit out of me for all i'd done to her. and i laughed. what a fuckin' joke! he pushed the door open and there she was." He winked at my Frisk.

He took a swig of mustard. "*after she'd beaten me within an inch of my life i felt like a huge weight had been lifted. we talked for hours about living with ourselves after doing awful things." He stared at the mustard bottle in his hand for a minute. "*blue asked me to join up and i told him that, so long as no one expected me to be anything other than the asshole i was, i'd help." He leaned back.

"So what did you do to her?"

"*i'd tell you to fuck off right now, but everyone here knows so i won't leave you hanging. i killed her over and over." He turned back to the bar. "*hey grillz. give me something strong."

"What made you stop?"

He watched the kiddo slowly eat her midnight snack, Flowey asleep on her head. "*she didn't stop. she wouldn't give up. she kept coming back, over and over. thirty-two fucking times. and on one lucky break, she got up to me. i expected an attack. i thought i was done. what i got was a hug and her whispering that she would never give up on me."

Grillby handed him a shot and he knocked it back. He looked at the empty shot glass.

"*no one had ever said that to me let alone demonstrated it so thoroughly. i hugged her back and held her until i noticed her breathing was all wrong. she said she had to sit down, that she was tired. flowey panicked, yelling at her to stay awake."

He put the glass down and looked at James. "*she died in my arms. her heart just gave out."

"*i asked flowey what had happened. he said he didn't know, that something was wrong with her and that she needed help. t _hat she'd died like this multiple times before._ i'd thought it was some monster getting the best of her every time things reset. but no, it was her heart. in an entire underground filled with the most god awful assholes the universe had ever managed to create and i was the only one who'd actually done her in. when things reset after her save she came in, ready to fight her way to me again, expecting me to have forgotten. i just took her hand and said that i would handle it from there."

He waved for another shot and downed it. "*when the barrier broke and we all saw real sunlight for the first time, i took her hand and said she could go home now. and her face fell. she looked more terrified than she had the entire time she was in the underground. she cried and begged us not to send her away. alphys got her full name out of her and used it to steal her medical record. that was something i never should have read. because if i ever see her parents, i will send them straight to hell." He put the glass down. "*are all the pieces in place now?"

"Yeah. Here." James asked Grillby for a glass with absinthe and overproof rum. He pour a bottle of mustard in the glass, stirred it, and handed it to Red.

Sans looked at it appreciatively before drinking it. "*that's not too shabby. thank you." He finished it and put the glass down. "*you finished, sugar plum?"

My Frisk nodded and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"*go for a walk?"

"Sure." They both headed for the door.

James leaned over. "And you're okay with them just heading off alone?"

"Of course. With all the food he eats here, he needs to work off those spare ribs."

A snowball hit me square in the face from the door.

Author's Note:

There was a song I listened to on repeat while writing the beginning fight. The reason I neglect to mention what song Frisk and Sans are rocking out too while fighting is because I wanted the reader to be able to insert the song they imagined it to be. It's the reason I don't describe a lot of stuff while writing. I know that fanfic readers have their head canons and I want them to be able to see their version of things rather than just what's in my head.

The Sans who is the great artist is a reference to Inktale. That Sans will not make an appearance in this series, but he's awesome, so I'm giving him a mention.


	6. Ep 6 - Midnight Collapse

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans and Gaster!Papyrus are the creations of Borurou. Underfell is a community built AU. The story is copyright to me.

1\. Please leave reviews! I honestly cannot tell how I'm doing if I'm not getting any feedback. In fact, leave reviews for the other fics you read too! Feedback helps writers improve and if you really like what someone is producing it encourages them to write more!

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence. Note that my beta teared up a bit at the end of this one.

3\. To avoid confusion, our narrator for this episode is C, Frisk's artificial intelligence.

Ep. 6 - Midnight Collapse

I came out of dark in my room, in the cabin in Frisk's head. It was a cozy cabin, situated on the top of a hill among trees in a vast forest that ended at the shores of a dark, cold ocean. This whole area was her 'safe place.' That place in her head that she kept everything that she loved and firmly filed away anything that she didn't. That Frisk made a place just for me in here was strange. We had a lot of trouble getting along at first for, uh, obvious reasons.

I headed into the cabin's main area, a comfortable living room with a couch facing a fireplace. I walked to the kitchen and shivered as I passed the door to the basement. The image of a snake, fangs bared and ready to strike, was burned into the door. It was triple locked and barred by my own hand. And I knew from experience that even just touching the door would freeze you to the core.

I looked around. There weren't any 'Frisks' about. That typically meant she was already awake and concentrating on something. I took a quick peek through her eyes. She was at her sewing machine, working on Red's jacket. It looked like she was altering the Delta Rune badge on the sleeve into a hidden pocket. As she finished it, she slipped one of the green and black badges we'd found inside.

Pulling up my interface, I checked the itinerary. It was a Saturday so the schedule was light: an hour at the firing range, lunch with Asriel, and then camping with Sans and the 'Baby-Bones.' I put down the interface and hopped on the wi-fi, looking around the facility. Red was asleep on the easy chair behind Frisk, feet propped up, phalanges clasped on his chest. His shirt said, 'If you need something from me today, reconsider.'

I headed out of the apartment. Papyrus was cleaning his workshop. Asriel and Agent Niagra were discussing something in the lab. Alphys and Undyne were gone for the day.

The Baby-Bones, Verdana and Ravie, were already here and hanging out in the garage with Sans. Though to call them babies wasn't accurate in the least. Rav, a skeleton like his father, was sixteen, while Vivi, who took after her human mother, would turn twenty later this month. They had latched firmly onto Bones and Frisk as surrogate parents after the loss of their world. And Bones and Frisk had fallen into those roles as if it were completely natural.

It was a phenomenon that Blue had told us about and one that he studied in depth. When the child of a Sans and/or Frisk was in the presence of an alternate reality's version of their parents, everyone involved began acting as a family unit. Even if the Frisk and Sans of that alternate world did not have an intimate relationship of any sort, they still fell into the appropriate roles. The children never treated the surrogates as if they were the originals, but would fit themselves into the current family dynamic in the most appropriate place. When they had met White and his Frisk, they immediately fell into being the youngest siblings in the family and were immediately treated as if that were the case.

Vivi attended an arts school to study preservation. Rav lived with their grandma Carol in a suburb of St. Canard City near the facility.

"Hey, Sans?"

He looked up from working on the Hornet. "Yeah, Vi?"

"I'm gonna go for a walk."

"All right. Be back in an hour. Papyrus is treating us to lunch at the sub shop."

I hopped around the rest of the building. The place was empty, offices closed, laboratories shut down for the weekend.

I popped back to Frisk just as she finished working on the jacket. She dropped it on Red's head.

"*thanks, sugar plum," came the muffled response. He stood and pulled the jacket on before following Frisk back to her bedroom.

"How long are you staying today?" she asked while she changed.

"*not too much longer. i thought i'd hit the nature trail before heading home. it's a nice walk this time of year. i should have brought the kiddo along." He cocked his head to one side. "*the ink is new. when'd ya get that? and without me along? i'm heart broken!" He held out a boney hand for a better look.

Frisk rolled her eyes and held out her arm. "I had it done before I visited you last. I'm surprised you didn't notice then."

"*in my defense, i was very distracted at the time. what with pulling glass shards out of your bicep and all." He looked at the line of sunflowers on the inside of her right arm. "*it's nice work."

"How's the cyborg version of me doing?"

"*he's been doing pretty well all things considered. dad's been growing skin, bone, and organs to put the kid back together. and frisk spends a lot of time with him between her studies. fase is still working on his reset." He stretched. "*i'll say good bye before i head off. see ya in a bit, sugar blossom."

"See ya."

He short cut away while she pulled on a shirt. Grabbing her uniform jacket, she headed for the door.

The facility alarm went off. Frisk froze. "C?"

"Just a sec," I said. I hooked into the security system. "Oh hell. Multiple hostiles on premises. They're moving toward the facility."

"How many?"

"Twelve. Five of them are wearing the green and black badges."

Frisk turned on her heel and went into her laundry room. She lifted a trap door in the floor and dropped into the facility's armory. "Who's here right now?"

"Asriel, Agent Niagra, Papyrus, Bones, Ravie, Vivi, and Red."

Frisk put on her best armor. "Tell Bones to get the kids to the safe room."

"Vivi's out for a walk somewhere on the grounds."

"Is Ravie with him?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She pulled on a harness, put her jacket on over top, and armed herself. She shoved extra foam core clips in the interior pockets of her coat. "Tell him to put Rav in the safe room. I'll find Vivi and get her there. Shut off the alarm."

I silenced the alarm.

She tapped her comm as she grabbed her favorite rifle from the wall mount, slinging it over her shoulder. "Hey, Larry?"

"Niagra here. What's going on?"

"Twelve hostiles on premises. Five with the black and green badges we've been studying. Head to the roof. It's already prepped for you."

"Good to know you read my file."

Frisk smiled. "You have no idea how happy I am to have a sniper on board. I'm looking to take as many as possible alive. I trust your discretion if you feel the need to eliminate a threat."

"Got it. Over."

I hopped over to Bones. "Bones?"

"What?" He sat up, slamming his skull off the underside of the Hornet. "OW!"

"Sans! Are you okay?" Ravie asked.

"Yeah," he groaned, "What was up with the alarm?"

"Hostiles on premises. Take Ravie to the safe room."

He slid out from the Hornet. "I need to get Vi."

"Frisk is on it."

He stood up. "Come on, Rav." He grabbed the boys phalanges and short cut to the safe room. "Stay here."

"What's happening?"

"Not sure yet, kiddo. Just hang."

Ravie grabbed his arm. "No! Don't go! Not again!"

Bones knelt in front of Ravie and gave him a smile. "I'm not gonna just disappear on ya, kiddo. Promise. I'm staying put."

Papyrus came into the room, locking the door behind him.

"Look. Paps is here now. Frisk is gonna find Vi. We'll all be fine."

I hopped over to Asriel. He was hidden on the roof with Agent Niagra.

Frisk came on all comms. "No hostiles have attempted to enter the facility as yet. I'm locking it down to keep them outside. Vivi and Red both show up on the nature trail. I'm heading after them first."

"Any idea why these guys might be here?" Niagra asked.

"I see black and green badges," Asriel said. "I'll bet they're after Frisk and Bones. They certainly brought enough people to finish us all off. Find Verdana as fast as you can and then I want both of you in the safe room."

"Asriel-"

"No arguments, Frisk. I've lived with you long enough to know exactly how over confident you are. The more you win, the more reckless you become. You don't have to do things on your own. Let the rest of us handle this."

"Acknowledged."

"I'm calling back up. Chara? See if they're using comms and if you can tap into them."

"Working on it," I responded. When my brother decided to be charge, he really was in charge. I don't know if it's anything to do with being royalty or inborn skill, but when he pulled out his 'command voice' everyone fell into line. Even Frisk. Well, especially Frisk.

"Heading to the nature trails," Frisk said.

I projected onto Frisk's shoulder.

"How's it coming on their comms?" she asked.

"Almost there... Done. Patching us in. There doesn't seem to be a communications hub, so it's an open channel. They shouldn't be able to hear us. Here we go." I opened the radio line.

A male voice came through giving orders. "Our targets are one skeleton monster, over six feet tall with cracks in his skull, and one human female at five feet eight inches, athletic build. The intel provided says she has long brown hair and blue eyes. Both will likely be wearing black leather jackets with the Seraph Facility symbol on the left sleeves."

Frisk stopped dead. "Fuck."

"What? We guessed they were after you and Bones."

"I know that voice. Shit!" She hopped twice and looked up at the tree tops overhead. "Release my full LV."

" _What?_ "

"You heard me. Give me access to my LV."

"I'm not doing that."

There was a banging inside of Frisk's head. The door to the cottage basement was warping under the strain of successive impacts.

"I know the man on the other end of that broadcast and the description he gave also matches Vivi. Open that door."

Dammit. I pulled the locks and stepped back. The door opened slowly and a younger Frisk walked out wearing a uniform that she'd blocked from large portions of her memory. She walked out of the cottage and was suddenly in front of that cold, dark ocean. She stepped into the water and disappeared. The water stopped moving, becoming as still as glass. The world inside Frisk's head turned cold. Ice and frost covered everything. I shivered against it and felt a blanket being wrapped around my shoulders. Another Frisk wearing a lovely blue dress was hugging me tightly.

On the outside, Frisk's entire demeanor changed. She took off like a shot directly through the woods toward Verdana's position on my map. Vivi was running. I altered the coordinates so she and Frisk would meet at the shortest route possible. Frisk turned sharply, heading instead for the six mercenaries chasing Vi down. Frisk leaped on top of a toppled log and used it as a spring board to give her momentum. She tackled the merc in the back, shoving a knife in his neck before rolling to her feet, and running after the next. She shot him in the legs, trapping them in foam core. He yelled as he hit the ground. The two of the remaining four mercs turned to face her. She ducked for cover behind a tree, pulled the gun with live ammo, and shot the merc in foam core before he could recover enough to attack.

Her LV rose.

A male voice came over the comm. "Female target sighted. She just took out two members of the team."

Frisk dashed deeper into the woods and quickly scaled a large evergreen. She pulled her rifle from her shoulder and carefully aimed while two mercs swept the forest, looking for her. She fired twice and her LV rose again.

She slung the rifle back onto her shoulder as she dropped from the tree and ran directly through the woods toward Verdana.

The voice Frisk had recognized came back on the comm. "Somebody talk to me! Have you seen the target? Someone answer and confirm!"

"Female who matches description is ahead of us. She'll tire out soon."

Frisk put on the speed, jumping and rolling over the forest floor to avoid trees and pit falls. I could see Verdana directly in front of us. Red was coming down the trail in the other direction. Verdana tripped and fell in a roll. She skidded to a stop, bruised and bloody in front of Red. Shit. Had he met her before?

"Frisk?"

She came to a stop.

"Frisk!"

"Red's got this."

"RED'S NEVER MET HER!"

Verdana looked up at him. "Dad?"

The wolfish grin on his face turned into a black frown, eyes glowing blood red. Verdana hugged herself and squeezed her eyes shut, trembling. He walked passed Verdana placing himself between her and the two men chasing her down on the path.

"*you guys have got some nerve to pick on my kid."

 _What?_

Instead of the usual attacks intended to toy with his enemies, Red hit them both with kill strikes, leaving bloody stains on the ground. He turned back to Verdana. Frisk came down onto the path and he gave her a nod before he slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around Vivi, expression tender.

"*hey, kiddo. you all right?"

She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. You just look like..." She trailed off, tears streaming down her face.

"*hey now! no worries." He wagged a boney finger in her face. "*come on. i'll get you some place safe." He helped her stand. "*where am i taking her, sugar plum?"

"The safe room," Frisk said.

"Frisk!" Verdana shot into her arms, hugging her tightly.

Frisk hugged her back. "It's okay. You're safe. This is Red. He's going to take you to the safe room. Ravie is already there."

Vivi's face fell when she looked into Frisk's eyes. "Why do you look so different?"

"Go with Red."

Red held out a boney hand and Vivi let him pull her away. "*i'll be back a few." They disappeared.

"So did we just see that weird baby-bones phenomenon in action or is Red not as much of a jerk as I thought?"

Frisk remained motionless. "A little of both."

"Hostile at 6."

Frisk ducked as a knife came flying over her head and embedded solidly in the tree in front of her. Her arm came up to block the punch coming around to her head, but missed the one to her sternum. Grunting in pain, she threaded her arm through his, locking the joint, and hip tossed the guy away from her. He rolled to his feet.

"Holy Shit. If it isn't Frisk!"

Frisk spit the blood from her mouth, wiping her chin with the back of her hand. "Hello, Riley." She squared up, readying for another round. "So you did go merc after discharge."

"Yep. It's too bad. If I'd known you were one of the targets, I wouldn't have taken the job."

"That's why they didn't give you names."

Riley frowned. "Well, you know how it goes."

"Yes. Yes I do." She dashed forward, knocking him into the ground, and punching him in the face. His feet came up and landed a hard kick to the armor covering her stomach, lifting her up and flinging her back.

They both kipped up to their feet, mirroring each other's stance. Frisk threw the first punch left and Riley blocked it, getting knocked in the head by her stronger right. When he stepped back, she followed up with two more punches, and kicked him in the stomach. She stepped back into her stance, waiting for him to recover.

"What the hell are you doing? You don't even give Bones the chance to recover on the training floor!"

She didn't answer.

They circled each other for a moment, before Riley brought a roundhouse kick. Frisk dropped to one knee to duck it and punched him squarely in the groin. He didn't react. His knee came up and caught her in the chin, knocking her onto her back. He stepped back and waited for her to recover.

What the hell?

Frisk pulled a gun and Riley pushed her arm to the side when she fired. She spun to take another shot, and he repeated the process before knocking her gun out of her hand. Frisk grabbed his arm and kicked him twice in the side before landing a crack right into his elbow. He grabbed the front of her jacket kneeing her hard in the chest and shoving her away. They both stepped back to recover.

What was going on? She had access to all of her LV but wasn't even close to going for a kill.

I stepped back into her head and ran down into the basement expecting to see anything other than what I found. I was standing in an office very similar to her office in the Seraph Foundation with multiple large glass cases. One had the snake symbol and the words "PROJECT VIPER" etched into it. I pulled it open. Inside were framed pictures sitting on top of case files. I grabbed the one under Riley's picture and opened it. A small photo fell out. It was a selfie of Frisk and Riley in some European city. I'd never seen her smile that way before. Like she had accepted a fate she couldn't ever truly live with. "Sorry" was written on the back and not in Frisk's handwriting.

I quickly went back to the fight. They were ready to go again when a bone came out of no where and cracked Riley in the head. He fell to one knee, blood pouring from a head wound.

"Damn. You're still good. I could really use you on my team."

Red stood next to Frisk. His eyes flicked between the two. "*so why haven't you killed him yet?"

"I'm out of live rounds."

"*is that all?"

The next strike silenced the merc for good.

Red grabbed Frisk's arms, rubbing up and down. "*come on, sugar blossom. you're lv's got you all cold. you need to warm up."

She looked at him, eyes like cold steel.

"*knock knock."

Frisk sighed.

"*come on. knock knock."

"Who's there."

He smiled. "*that's right. howie."

"Howie who?"

"*howie gonna hide this dead body?"

She cracked a smile. "That was terrible."

"*ah! there's the smile. come on. you need to get to the safe room."

Frisk recovered her gun and took Red's hand. In her head, the younger her in the uniform reappeared in the house. She went back down to the basement, the door slamming shut, and locking behind her. The world inside her head warmed up, ice melting away.

Red short cut over to the safe room. Ravie glomped Frisk as soon as she appeared.

Asriel came over the comm. "It looks like the mercs are gone."

"Yeah," Frisk said. "Who'd you call for back up?"

"Blue. He brought a few friends. We've neutralized all but one of the people with the green and black badges. We can't locate the last. They likely ran for it when they realized the facility was locked up and a sniper was on the roof. With the mercs gone, we can start containment, and get some answers."

Frisk turned to Bones. "Call Fase and have her search for anomalies. I don't want to deal with that last one popping up unannounced."

Bones looked at her hard and she looked away. "Sure." He pulled out his phone.

Frisk sat down with the Baby-Bones, hugging them both.

"Fase said she only detects the four we've currently got."

Frisk nodded. "You two okay?"

Ravie nodded and Vivi hugged her tighter. Vi looked much better than she had earlier. Likely a piece of monster candy had set her to rights.

Asriel came into the room. "We're clear and the four we caught are in containment. Larry's cleaning up the mess Red and Frisk made."

"*not sorry."

Blue short cut into the room. "*welp. looks like you guys got a skele-ton on your plate today."

"SINCE YOUR BROTHER IS NOT HERE TO BE DISGUSTED BY YOUR BAD JOKES, I SHALL YELL AT YOU ON HIS BEHALF. REALLY, SANS!"

Asriel chuckled. "Thankfully, with the facility closed down, we don't have to worry about the media showing up." He sighed. "You kids are having lunch with Bones and Papyrus, right? Why don't you four head out?"

"Are we still on for camping?" Ravie asked.

"Totally," Frisk said. "It's important to do normal things after bad things happen. Sticking to plans and routines helps. You guys have a good lunch."

The four left and Frisk turned to Red, Blue, and Asriel. "Let's go see our anomalies."

We headed up the stairs.

I moved my hologram to Blue.

"*hey! long time no c!"

"That was legitimately terrible, Blue."

He shrugged. "*welp. i guess i need to put down my c game and move to my a game."

"I'm a hologram and somehow, that one physically hurt me."

He winked his left eye socket at me. "*whatcha need?"

"I've got a new reaction for you dealing with the 'baby-bones' phenomenon."

"*oh?"

"Red called Verdana his kid."

Red looked over at us, but said nothing.

"*that's not too surprising. verdana's father was a lot like red."

"*i thought we were all versions of you. you mean there are other versions of me? this is horrible! that means that somewhere there's a more evil version of me. i do my best dammit!"

Blue flinched a little, like the nail had been hit too squarely on the head. What did a more evil version of Red look like?

"*you know there are other versions of you."

Red gave Blue that smile I'd only seen on the two of them, something only the Alpha and Beta Sans-es shared. I went back over to Frisk. Her expression was back to normal, the icy edge gone from her eyes. I sat down on her shoulder.

Each of the four had been put in separate rooms out of view of the others, their badges removed. They consisted of one female Frisk and three male ones. All but one was completely possessed by a Chara. We started with him.

"How the hell did you do it?! How did you convince the mercs to leave?!" he yelled when we came in.

Frisk crossed her arms over her chest. "We didn't. What's the name of your group?"

He snorted. "Don't have one."

"What's your objective?"

He cocked his head to one side, glaring like we were idiots. "That's not obvious by now?"

"How did you make the badges?"

He smiled. "Why don't you ask your kids' mom?"

Asriel grabbed Frisk before she could hit the guy.

The prisoner coughed a few times and laughed. "So that's the button to push? That's good intel right there."

"You're a cocky little son of a bitch," I said. "How many Frisks and Charas have joined?"

"Fuck you, traitor."

I blinked. Traitor?

Asriel whispered something into Frisk's ear and she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"How did you find out about us?" she asked.

The prisoner suddenly looked like a deer in head lights. He had not expected the question. "I don't know. I know there are people who are fixing timelines, but we've only recently started going after them." He looked confused. "We thought you wouldn't be ready for us."

"Too bad. You showed your hand," Frisk said. "Let's move on."

The next 'Frisk' took one look at Asriel and refused to talk.

Next was the female possessed by Chara.

"Woah. Your LV makes mine look like a drop in a bucket," she said, a little stunned.

"What's the name of your group?" Frisk asked.

"How is that possible? Are you a transplant from some other timeline? Or did you kill all the mercs and suck up the EXP that way?"

"This is my timeline. I didn't take out all of the mercs. What is the name of your group?"

"Neither of those is possible. Not with an LV like that." She looked at me. "How are you able to project like that? You look like a spirit on her shoulder. Would I be able to do that if my LV were that high?"

I snorted. "My Frisk had her LV way before she met me."

"That doesn't make any sense." She stared at the floor. "That's not possible. There is no child that is a murderer to start. A Chara is crafted through the malice of those around them. Frisks... Only a very few Frisks have that."

"What is the name of your group?" Frisk repeated.

She kept staring at the floor. "Midnight Collapse. We're called Midnight Collapse."

"What is your objective?"

"Destroy all time lines." She looked at Frisk. "What did your parents do to you? Mine were awful, but, I wasn't like this until I'd spent centuries in the dark."

"My parents are good people."

She shook her head. "You aren't a sociopath. You lack the traits. What am I seeing?"

Frisk sighed. "If I tell you, will you answer my questions?"

Her red eyes turned bright with eagerness. "Yes! I must know."

"What you see is military service in special operations during a time of war. I did not fall until after discharge."

She blinked several times. "You're a soldier."

"Yes. My Level of Violence is not an indication of an evil nature. It's a sign of my willingness to defend those I love."

"You're a soldier." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "A high Level of Violence earned through duty at least, if not true devotion. I did not consider such a thing."

"Why are you looking to collapse all time lines?"

She looked at Blue. "I killed that smiley trashbag over and over. The look on her face, knowing I had come back just because I wanted to see her die again and again. I wore her resolve down to nothing. She didn't even try to fight me the last time. She just waited for the strike and the reset. I walked away with true victory! That's when Midnight Collapse found me and offered me the ability to destroy other timelines. To have that total victory again and again. I gave them my Frisk's soul and in return, they gave me a badge that would let me travel to other timelines."

"*traveling the void between those universes requires skill in advanced math and quantum physics," Blue said. "*that doesn't look like your forte."

"Well aren't we the _font_ of all wisdom!" She giggled. "No. I can't do it on my own. But we have someone who can do it for us." Her smile turned sly.

"A Frisk? A Chara? A Sans? Who?"

She fell silent, giggling.

The last one had broken through the foam and was waiting when we came in the door. Frisk floored him, picked him up, and threw him in a corner.

"Who is directing your travel between timelines?"

He froze, but recovered quickly. "That's your opener? Wouldn't you like to know who we are or why we're doing it?" He pointed to Frisk. "I'm sure you'd like to know, right? You destroyed your timeline. Get me out of here and I'll help you destroy more."

"Who's directing your travel? Who's solving the equations?"

He frowned. "I don't know. It's just a voice on the comm. Real eerie-like."

"Is that person your leader?" Frisk asked.

"No."

"Who leads the group?"

He shrugged and smiled. "Come with me, Frisk. We can find out together."

"Red? Tie him to a chair, please." Frisk turned on her heel and left. She waited outside the room for Red to finish and the door to shut before she spoke. "That is a serious amount of differences in knowledge."

"They could be lying about what they know," Asriel said. "You might want to try going back in with the third one without me. He might become talkative."

"You noticed that too?" Frisk said. "I've seen that before while out on missions with Bones. Some Chara's change completely in the presence of an Asriel, especially a full grown adult one."

"Not to be a downer on the conversation," I chimed in, "but no one here has had lunch yet and your sugar levels are about to tank, Frisk."

She sighed. "Noted. What should we do with these four?"

"*i could use some new test subjects," Red answered.

"No."

"*my dad could use some new test subjects," he pressed, smile wide.

"Double no." She rolled her eyes.

"*how about the first one then? give me that asshole and i won't tell lover-boy what was said in that room."

Her eyes narrowed, but she smiled. "You're quick to the black mail. But still no. Blue?"

Blue put his left hand on his chest and closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly. It was a simple gesture and one I couldn't remember not seeing him do while thinking. "*we'll dump all of them back in their original timelines and lock them there if their timelines still exist. the only choice at that point will be reset and a chance to do it the right way." He pulled out a phone to call Fase and arrange it, following as we headed for the kitchen.

Asriel sighed. "I was looking forward to having lunch with my siblings today." He smiled ruefully. "I miss not getting to hang with you two."

"My apartment is right next to yours, Az. You have a key, just come over."

"But then he'd have to give up some portion of his 18 hour days," I teased.

Frisk nodded. "You do overwork yourself."

"*i hear some pots calling some kettles black," Red snickered. He and Blue sat down at the table and pulled their condiments of choice out of no where.

"Hot dogs work for everyone?" Frisk asked.

"*haven't met one i didn't like," Blue answered. He and Red knocked their condiment bottles together before chugging them.

As everyone started eating, Bones came in with Rav and Vivi.

"Blue!" Vivi hugged him tightly.

"*hey kiddo! how ya doing?"

Ravie stared at Red. He looked over. "*need something, kiddo?"

"Sorry. You just look like dad."

Red patted the top of Ravie's skull. "*no problem, kiddo."

I hopped over to Bones. "Sans?"

"Yeah, C?"

I lowered my volume. "We need to talk. Away from Frisk."

He frowned but nodded and headed down the hall. Red noticed and followed us to Frisk's office.

Bones leaned against the desk, hands in his pockets. "What's up?"

"The head of the mercs was someone Frisk knew. Someone from her past." I looked at Red. "She lied about the ammo. She didn't even pull the gun with the live rounds when she went to shoot him."

"*even with her level of violence jacked up she didn't want to ice the guy?" Red snorted. "*i almost feel bad for killing him."

"Who was he?" Bones asked. "Do you have any idea?"

I shook my head. "No. His name was Riley. The only memory I could find was of Frisk pretending to be happy when she wasn't."

"*she's good at that."

Papyrus stuck his head in the door. "CONFERENCING WITHOUT THE OWNER OF THE OFFICE? A LITTLE RUDE, DON'T YOU THINK?"

"It's all good, Paps. Just talking about the owner of the office."

"THEN I HOPE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HELPING HER WITH THE INCREASE IN HER LV. THOUGH SHE HAS LONG LIVED WITH THE CONSEQUENCES, IT HAS BEEN SEVERAL YEARS SINCE IT LAST INCREASED. FRISK IS, ULTIMATELY, A VERY GENTLE PERSON. THIS CANNOT BE SWEPT UNDER A RUG." There was a strange flicker in his eye. One I recognized as being distinct to Gaster more than either of the brothers. "SHE WILL ATTEMPT TO KEEP HER TROUBLES TO HERSELF. YOU MUST NOT LET HER CARRY THAT BURDEN ALONE." He left the office.

Bones sighed and rubbed his skull. "It's like yelling at myself," he muttered.

Red crossed his arms over his chest. "*oh i know that look. weird to see it on a papyrus and not dad. what happened?"

Bones grimaced. He pulled a letter out of the interior pocket of his jacket and handed it Red. It was the letter he'd written himself in the Core.

Red looked it over, looked up at Bones for a second, and then read it again. He folded it up and handed it back. "*you workin' on this?"

"Yeah."

Red eyed him suspiciously. "*you better be." He sighed. "*you've got plans for the day, right? better get on those. it'll help her."

They headed out the door and back to the kitchen.

Agent Niagra was at the table. "So how does that work? You're a skeleton but you have full expression. Isn't your face hard like bone?"

Before Blue could answer, Frisk leaned over him. "The top up here? Totally solid." She knocked against it gently. "But down here, it's way softer." She pulled on his cheeks, mashing them around while giggling. Vivi, Rav, and Asriel were losing it at the other end of the table.

"*why am i putting up with this?" Blue huffed.

Frisk eased his skull back so they were looking eye to eye socket. "Because you love all the Frisks."

He gave her a wry smile and booped her nose with a boney finger. Frisk let go of him and sat down next to him, smile still bright. I jumped back in her head to look around. The cottage was nice and warm, a cheery fire in the hearth. Relief came over me like a wave. She wasn't acting. I came back out and sat on her shoulder.

"So when do I get to meet the friends you brought along today?" Frisk asked.

Blue shrugged. "*they were just the ones who responded the fastest. next time we have a party, i'll bring you along."

"And by party, you mean you all sit around and nap, right?"

"*partying makes us **bone** tired." He stood. "*i need to drop our detainees back in their respective timelines and get home. if you guys need anything or the fifth anomaly reappears, give me a ring."

"Thanks, Blue."

He winked his left eye and disappeared.

Frisk pulled out her phone to check the time. "If we want to be having smores at a camp fire tonight, we're going to need to get going."

"The Chevelle is packed," Bones said. "We just need to get in it."

Frisk gently yanked on one of Asriel's ears and rubbed the top of Red's skull. "Thanks for the help, Red. See you guys later."

"*anytime, sugar puss."

The trip out to the national park was as quiet but for Frisk talking to the kids in low tones about earlier, using a technique I'd seen her use with Alphys to quell fear and anxiety. She was helping them make sense of the morning. They camped at their normal spot by Jade Lake, close enough to be near the facilities but far enough away to have some privacy. Verdana and Frisk got the fire going and set a grate over it for grilling while Ravie and Bones put up the tents.

"So are you two officially seeing each other now?" Vivi asked while grilling chicken legs.

Bones raised a browbone at her as he sat down. "What gave you that idea?"

"Oh My God! You're pawing Frisk up every time you think we aren't looking! Geez. You're almost as bad as dad was."

Frisk huffed. "He has not been pawing me up, Vi." She sat down next to Rav. "Bones is not doing anything out of the ordinary. Besides, he's a bag of bones. It's like not much is going on there."

Rav piped up. "But it doesn't take that much magic at all to make a... uh. You know."

Vivi and Frisk laughed.

Sans facepalmed. "Apparently I missed a part when I gave you the skele-man talk."

"Which part was that?"

"The part about discretion." He looked at Frisk, hoping for some sympathy.

She smiled and gave him her best 'interested' look.

Sans sighed. "I know better than to believe that look."

She giggled and grabbed a marshmallow from the bag. After a long evening of creepy ghost stories, Vivi and Rav called it a night and crawled into their tents. Frisk sat next to Bones on the log and he put an arm around her waist.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your LV went up and a part of your life that you don't talk about wanted to have a conversation with you. You don't have to tell me about it if you're not up to it, but I do want to know if you're okay."

She turned and leaned back against him, putting her hand over his. "I'm okay."

He looked at me. I checked the inside of her head and gave him a thumbs up. "I'm not really pawing you up, am I?"

"Vivi was exaggerating. Geez, you're so afraid to touch me at all that right now I'm pretty sure I'm asleep and this is a dream."

He gave her that half-cocked smirk that often graced his skull. "Do you want me to pinch you to make sure?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. There is something I would like to know," Frisk said.

"Oh?"

She turned her head to give him a sly smile. "So what can you do with your magic?"

I wasn't sure how, but Sans blushed.

Frisk laughed and relaxed against him, head on his shoulder, watching the fire crackle and pop. It wasn't long before she fell asleep, the inside of her head darkening to a starry night. Bones put her in her tent, wrapping her up in her sleeping bag. He stayed there for a minute, watching her sleep.

"She seems normal, but something's off." Bones sighed. "Maybe I'm expecting her to act a certain way."

I hopped over to his shoulder. "Everything on the inside looks the same."

"Still. Paps is right. She needs something. I just don't know what. And I can't sit back and hope she gets it together on her own." He crawled out of the tent and grabbed the water pail to put out the campfire. He stopped for a moment, staring at the night sky. He pointed.

"See that? That's Jupiter. If I wake up early enough, I'll catch Saturn just before the sun rises."

"Nerd."

He chuckled. "You staying up?" he asked.

"No. If I do, it'll wake up Frisk and keep her up. She won't hit REM until I go dark. How late are you going to be up?"

He checked his phone. "It's only eleven. I'll hit the hay around one. I want finish my new book."

"Goodnight, Bones."

"Night, C."

I went to sleep, letting my background processes run their nightly protocols. When I woke, the cottage in Frisk's head seemed gray. I popped up on her shoulder to have a look around. Frisk was working in her sketchbook in the early morning light, a cup of coffee steaming next to her. She already had a new fire going, eggs and bacon cooking in a big cast iron pan. Between sips of coffee, she would occasionally look to her left, away from the tents. I looked in the same direction. The reflection of a pair of eyes shown back at me.

I spoke through the implant in her left ear. "How long have we been watched?"

She shrugged. "He was there when I came out to start breakfast."

"Him? How can you tell from here?"

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "It's a male version of me. Specifically me. He knows I've spotted him. He's observing my reaction."

"So you aren't giving him one."

"Well, that's not exactly true. Any response I give, no matter how calculated is still informative. Watch. He'll leave when Bones comes out of his tent."

"Why?"

"The same reason I would. Sans is never a fight you want if you can avoid it."

"Why aren't you doing anything about it?"

Frisk took a sip of coffee. "I'm not prepared for a fight right now."

I huffed. "So we're just going to let the fifth anomaly watch us and not take care of him."

"I don't think he's the fifth anomaly. I think the assault on the facility was planned so he could watch our response."

"I really doubt Fase would miss him in a sweep."

"She might if he's an exact match for me." She held up her sketchbook to show me the page she was working on. It said Midnight Collapse in a stylized script, the letters big and blocky. Inside the open space of the lettering were partial images of people from all walks of life laying in pools of graphite colored blood. Written all along the margins were the words "Eliminate All Sentient Life" over and over, making a frame.

I stared at her. "It's a code phrase."

She nodded. "It means 'eliminate all persons with whom you have had contact and leave."

"How many times have you had to do it?"

She shook her head. "None."

Bones came out his tent and the sketch book snapped shut. The observer in the tree disappeared.

Sans stretched. "Morning, Sunflower. Did you make me coffee?"

"Don't I always?" She poured him a cup and handed it to him. "You missed Saturn," she said.

Bones shrugged. "Must have been tired." He noticed the sketchbook and reached for it.

She swatted his hand away. "You know better."

He held up both boney hands in mock surrender. "Geez, Sweetheart! Won't I ever get a look?"

"I don't ask you to play the piano for me. Don't ask to look in my sketchbook."

"Sharing your lewd drawings with C and not me? I'm hurt."

Frisk sighed. "Jerk." She scooted two eggs and some bacon onto a plate for him. He took the plate, and gave her a wink.

Verdana came out of her tent. "What's this I hear about Frisk drawing sin?"

Bones threw his head back and let out a full on cackle while Frisk put her head in her hands.

Ravie crawled out of his tent sleepily. "What's all the noise about?"

That only brought on a new round of laughter from Bones. The rest of the morning was spent swimming in the lake before Bones pulled the tents down and Frisk packed the camp away. When Bones dropped the kids off Grandma Carol came out to check out the car.

"Hey!" Bones leaned out of the driver's side window, flashing her a big smile. "How's my hot, hot baby?"

"Oh don't you go talking like that, you silver tongued snake."

He stuck out an overly long tongue. "Nope. My tongue is still blue."

She chuckled as she shook her head. "So lewd. This is the Chevelle? It's nice! Look at this paint job! Did you ask for that?"

"Max surprised me with custom stripes. Want a ride?"

"I'll take you up on that next time you come by. I have to get Vivi back over to the dorms today."

"Sure thing, hot-momma."

"How ya holding up, Frisk? It must be a pain with this hound dog around."

Frisk shrugged. "He's not that bad! Tell Vivi I'll come by to see her on campus this week."

"Will do." Carol smiled and swatted at Sans before heading back to the house. He winked at her.

"Flirt!" Frisk snickered as he pulled away from the curb.

"For Carol? Oh yeah!" He pulled into the garage and unpacked the trunk while Frisk headed back to her apartment. She dropped her bag on the floor after shutting the door.

The male version of her was sitting in a chair by the window, looking out on the facility's gardens. "Nice place you've got here."

Frisk dropped her bag. "I don't appreciate people barging into my home let alone making themselves comfortable."

His eyes flicked to her and then back to the window. "If I am you and you are me, am I really barging in?"

"I doubt floral prints are your thing."

"My home is more on the woodsy side." He stood. "Camping is an interesting mental reprieve. A good one too." He made a face and his voice came out in imitation of some remembered trainer. "Stay on routine. Continue doing normal things." He snorted. "No matter what changes, the training remains."

He walked up to Frisk. They stood facing each other and I would have called them twins were it not for the obvious masculinity in his jaw line, the obvious feminine curve of her body.

"If the training turns out not to be enough, give me a call." He slipped a piece of paper into her hand and gave it a light squeeze, maintaining eye contact. "Sometimes." He smiled lightly. "Talking to someone who truly shares your experiences helps." He pulled his hand away slowly, letting his fingertips linger ever so slightly.

He stepped passed her and opened the door. "The fifth anomaly is hiding on the nature trail." He went out the door.

Frisk leaned against the wall, eyes squeezed shut. Inside her head, the dark ocean had swelled. She turned to the door.

"No!" I moved to full possession and sat her down.

"Let me go, Chara."

"No. You are staying put."

"The anomaly-!" She pulled against me.

"No. You are a wreck in here. If you go, you'll kill the anomaly. I'm not letting you. I'm going to get Bones."

"No. Don't bother him."

"You need your Sans."

"Don't bother him."

"Fuck that." I jumped over to Bones. He was sitting in his room, reading a book. "Sans! Frisk needs you. Now."

He put the book down and stood. "What's going on?"

"Just hurry."

He short cut to her apartment. She was heading out the door.

Bones scooped her up. "You're not going anywhere." He sat on the couch with Frisk in his lap, her head tucked under his mandible. "Would you mind giving us some time alone, C?"

"Not at all." I hopped over to Asriel and sat on top of his head.

"Hey, Chara. What's up?"

"The fifth anomaly is hiding on the Foundation grounds."

Asriel set down the test tube in his hand. "Without setting off the alarms? Well, I'll give them credit for their skill." He washed and dried his hands before heading out of the lab. "Are they still on premises?"

I checked the grounds. "Yeah. They're hanging on the nature trail. Looks like they're prepping something."

Asriel went into his apartment and pressed a button hidden behind a bookshelf. A false shelf rolled away to reveal six souls in six vessels. "There's a threat to the Foundation. Which one of you would like to help me deal with it?"

All six vibrated in their vessels, but the orange one came out, and landed gently in Asriel's hand. He absorbed the soul. The sclera of his eyes turned black, horns lengthened, teeth sharpened. He teleported to the trail, floating in the air above and behind the fifth anomaly. It was another Chara possessed, female Frisk.

"Waiting for someone?"

She turned, gun out and ready. She looked confused until she looked up, took aim, and fired. The bullets hit the shield natural to Asriel's power and fell to the ground.

Asriel smiled and waved a finger at her with a wink. "Oh, you should know better." Asriel snapped his fingers and a bright red soul appeared in front of her chest. "This is your soul. The very culmination of your being. You don't want it to get hurt."

Asriel's fire magic leaped to life in his hands and spread around the girl, boxing her in. Asriel let loose a Star Blazing and she managed to dodge most of it. She moved to attack and Asriel simply floated to the side to dodge.

"I do train with my Frisk. You really don't have a chance."

I heard my own voice. "Oh yes I do!"

Asriel quickly moved away from the strike. Asriel raised a hand and lightning bolts pummeled the field. The anomaly could only dodge so many before getting hit.

"Chaos Blaster while she's down!" I yelled.

Several lasers cut through the area and the girl hit the ground nearly cut in half by the attack. A Chaos Saber appeared in his hand and the girl breathed her last. He pulled the black and green badge from her jacket before consuming her body in a magical fire. Looking around the trail for her equipment, he grabbed her things before returning to his apartment.

Asriel touched his hand to his chest and stopped. He looked at me. "Do I need to defend Frisk's honor?"

I rolled my eyes. "We put the two most reticent people in the world in a room together. If they did more than cuddle I'd actually be proud of them."

Asriel sighed, a smile on his lips. He drew the orange soul out and it floated back to it's vessel on the shelf. His eyes and horns returned to normal. He touched the vessels lovingly. "You guys okay in there? Anyone want out for a while?"

There was a soft humming, but none of the souls left their vessels.

"All right then. You kids sleep tight." He pressed the button that hid them away.

"Dad would kill us if he knew you still had the souls."

Asriel nodded. "Probably. I wonder why they haven't left."

"Maybe for the same reason I haven't. You were the first person we all met in the underground. The first experience we all had with monsters. You make a damn good first impression."

"But you did leave."

"No, Asriel. I didn't."

He turned his head to look at me fully.

"I stayed with Mom's dust when you spread her across the flowers in the Ruins. And for the most part, I slept. I would wake often to check on you, make sure you were doing okay. When each of the children fell, I woke to see them before going back to sleep. But when Frisk fell, I could feel your panic. Your overwhelming fear. I wasn't aware that she was dying. I thought it was her LV. So I went into her, thinking I could limit it. I found this warm cottage in the middle of an old forest. She was laying on the floor in that cottage in this pretty but faded blue dress. The colors all around were dull and fading, but as you worked, they brightened. I could hear you talking to her so I repeated what you said, holding her hand. And when you implanted the AI unit, I took control of it."

I smiled. "I'm not your memory. I'm me."

Asriel sat down. "I wish I could hug you."

"I believe that Frisk can handle that. I mean, I am her Chara."

A tear escaped his eye and he wiped it away. Not for the first time, I wished I was solid enough to at least touch my brother's face.


	7. Ep 7 - 3:10 to Snowdin

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans (our lovely narrator) and Gaster!Papyrus are the creations of Borurou. The story is copyright to me.

1\. This episode is my beta's favorite so far.

2\. This story is rated T for language and suggestive jokes/themes.

Ep. 7 - 3:10 to Snowdin

A little kid crashed in to my legs and grabbed a hold of my jacket to stay on his feet. I put a hand down on his shoulder to steady him.

"Woah there, kiddo! I got ya."

His mother skated up. "I'm so sorry! Are you-" She blinked rapidly, staring at me.

Ah. The 'OMG It's a Monster!' stunned reaction. I gave her a smile.

"It's fine." I looked down at the boy. "First time roller skating?"

The kid nodded, unfazed by a talking skeleton.

"Slow down some. You're trying to go too fast." I looked at his mother. "Mind if I give him a few pointers?"

Before she could make a proper response, I turned around and skated backwards, pulling the kid along. "Keep your left foot straight and push off with your right. Very good. Now keep your right foot straight and push off with your left. That's right. One side then the other." Twice around the rink and he was handling it on his own. I got him back to his mother and found a line of kids, teens, and a few bold moms waiting for lessons.

Frisk laughed at me as she skated by, turning to go backwards and stick her tongue out a me. I sighed and worked through half the line when the lights lowered.

"Alright, Ladies and Gents. Our next song is a Couples Skate!"

I winked at the blushing mom in front of me and gave a little bow. "You'll have to pardon me. My girl's coming along." I grabbed Frisk's hand as she came by and swung her around to skate with me waltz style around the rink. She squeaked at the change in momentum and I used a bit of magic to help her keep her feet.

"Show off," she muttered.

I chuckled and pretended that she was asking and not complaining. "Sure thing, Beautiful!"

I spun Frisk around and she crossed in front of me, took my hand and moved to skate behind me. I turned and took her hand, twirling her so her back hit my rib cage, and put an arm around her waist. She moved her feet with mine, skating backwards, letting me lead us through the crowd. When we came around to spectator side of the rink I spied a bunch of people filming us on their phones. I twirled Frisk around for the crowd, her lacy skirt hiking up to just above her knees, before mashing her against my rib cage and pulling her around the curve.

"I swear I'm going to kill you one of these days," she grumbled, face red.

I snickered and pulled Frisk toward the middle of the rink as the song ended holding both of her hands. Before I could get away with embarrassing her again, she skated away from me.

"Sorry, but you have a line of love sick admirers over there. You'll need to get crackin' if we want to be out of here in time to get to White's for dinner!"

I sighed and slumped a little. White. Ugh. I looked over at the line, which was suddenly longer. "All right. Everyone who already knows how to skate, out of the line."

A bunch of crestfallen faces left as I got up to the que. A little girl pulled on my sleeve.

I crouched down. "Whatcha need, sweetheart?"

"Can I skate with the pretty lady?" She pointed at Frisk and I waved her over.

"You got a fan, Babe."

Frisk smiled and skated off with the little girl. My phone went off and I checked it. C had sent me a picture. It was a male version of my Frisk sitting at one of the tables in the rink. I glanced at the specific table and found it empty. I would have to ask C how he did that sometime. The blushing mom from before coughed politely. I shoved my phone in my pocket and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry!" I offered her a hand and took her around the rink. Between Frisk and I, we managed to clear out the que before we had to go. As she hopped into the passenger side of the car, I pulled out my phone and showed her the picture. "Is this the Frisk you were talking about?"

She frowned. "Yeah."

"He's hot."

Frisk sighed, not taking my bait. "Let's get back home so I can change before we portal."

"Sure thing, Sunflower."

That earned me a smile. One quick change back home and we were ready to go. I opened a portal for us to White's place and we stepped inside, traveling along a string of equations only I could see.

I felt the tug of a lasso around Frisk and I was we traveled through the void toward White's universe. I tried to compensate for the sudden change in our travel, altering the equations. The insistent tug pulled Frisk away from me. I dropped the equations to grab her tightly around the waist, holding her against me as hard as I could. A light flashed and we entered some random universe. I short cut us, hoping to avoid crashing into the ground.

Magic cut through my teleport and I hit the ground with a resounding crack. I struggled for a moment to check Frisk and realized she wasn't there. Panic overwhelmed me. I hadn't let go of her. I rolled onto my front and groaned, wishing I hadn't. Everything felt wrong. I scrambled on the dusty ground for a moment before recognizing a portal opening underneath me. I was falling again and when the magic let go of me, I hit the ground hard enough to knock me out.

"Sans? Sans?"

I could hear Frisk calling me quietly but insistently. I opened my eye sockets. I was laying on the floor in a cell in a sheriff's office. Like the kind you see in older western movies. Frisk was in the one next to mine. She sighed with relief when I sat up. I looked over at her.

"You okay, Babe?"

"I'm fine. You look like hell though."

"Where are we?"

"Y'all are in Snowdin," came a thickly accented, midwestern American voice.

I looked through the bars at a Sans in a long black coat, black jeans, and a black Stetson on his head. A silver star with the word 'Sheriff' engraved on it, shined on his coat. A Gaster Blaster coated in a sleek steel floated next to him.

"I heard you two fix timelines so I grabbed ya's." He looked at Frisk with an unusual blue-green left eye. "But I'm not so sure about that amount of LOVE."

I rubbed the back of my head. "So what's your problem and why not just contact Blue?"

He settled back on his heels and hooked his thumbs in the belt of his jeans. "Someone kidnapped my Frisk. I'd be mighty appreciative if you could get him back without having to call the big man. I'd prefer to keep my business to myself."

I stood and dusted off my jeans, grunting at the pain in my head. "All right. Let us out and we'll get on to the rescue."

He pointed at Frisk. "I'm sorry, little lady, but with an LV that high I'm gonna have to ask you to stay put."

Frisk sat down on the bed in the cell. "Okay."

We both looked at her and said at the same time, "Okay?"

She smiled at me, big and bright. "I love having days off!" She shooed us off. "You two go have fun."

"You're the investigator! I have no skill with that kind of abduction."

Frisk shrugged. "He called me a lady. If he wants me to sit and be pretty, I can sit and be pretty." She looked at him. "May I have my bag?"

Sans frowned. "No."

"Okay. May I have the sketchbook and pencil inside the bag?"

Sans opened the large purse she'd brought with her and pulled out the sketchbook and pencil, carefully handing it to her through the bars.

Frisk smiled. "Thank you."

He blinked at her, suddenly unsure about the situation. He opened my cell, eyes still on Frisk as she worked in her sketchbook.

"Where did the kidnapper take your Frisk?" I asked.

He looked up at me. "I don't know."

I huffed. "Where's your kiddo live? Maybe I can find something to at least point me in the right direction."

"This way."

Sans led me outside and I found myself in a dusty town underneath actual sky. What the hell?

"I thought you said we were in Snowdin."

Sans cracked a wry smile. "We are. And this place gets a lot of snow during the winter. The summers are just dry."

"We are not underground."

"Nope. Monsters here weren't stuck underground. We were shipped off on a boat and ended up banished to a different continent. We didn't have contact with humans until Europeans started coming across the Atlantic."

I frowned. "What about native tribes? You didn't have contact with them?"

"Based on what I know of other timelines, there wasn't a land bridge here for humans to cross."

We came up to an orphanage. Little monster children ran around the yard, playing in the hot summer sun. A Toriel in a demur purple dress watched the kids play from the shaded porch.

Sans took off his hat to address her, holding it to his chest. "Hello, Miss Tori. I brought someone along to help us find Frisk."

I nodded. "Ma'am."

She smiled. "Thank you!" She looked around. "Shouldn't there be two of you?"

Sans coughed uncomfortably. "The other one's got a little too much LOVE for my liking."

Toriel frowned.

I shrugged at her. "Can you tell me about the kidnapping?"

Toriel shook off her dismay. "Frisk was taken from his room in the middle of the night. Would you like to see the room?"

"Yes, please."

She showed us inside and took us to a room on the third floor. The room was clean and the window was closed.

I checked the window and looked at the drop to the ground. "Was the window open that night?"

Toriel shook her head. "There was a dust storm that night. All windows were closed and locked."

"Did you clean the room?"

She shook her head again. "Everything is exactly as it was. My child has always been very tidy."

I looked at the wooden floor. It was free of scuff marks. The bed was made. I looked in the small closet and in the trunk at the end of the bed for anything. Nothing. I pulled out my phone to text Frisk and found I didn't even have a signal of any kind. I huffed and looked at Sans. "I need to go back to the sheriff's office to talk to my Frisk."

He frowned but I didn't care.

I looked at Toriel. "Would you mind coming along? I'm sure she'll have questions for you."

"Not at all." She looked at Sans for a moment and then back to me. "Will I be safe?"

"As safe as all the little kids she spent the afternoon teaching to skate. Come on."

Frisk looked up from her sketchbook as we came in the office.

Frisk smiled at me. "Good Evening, Clarice."

I groaned. "You get points for getting the quote right. But, oh wow, that's in poor taste."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatcha got for me?"

"Their Frisk was taken in the middle of the night during a sandstorm from a third story room. There is no sign of a struggle and nothing appears to be out of place."

Frisk leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, arms crossed over her chest. She looked at Sans. "If you needed to go out during a sand storm, what would you wear?"

He shrugged. "Long coat, hat, scarf, and goggles."

She looked at Toriel. "Does your Frisk have those things?"

"Well, of course," Tori answered.

"Are they still in his room?"

Toriel and Sans looked at each other, surprised.

"No," Sans answered.

Frisk made a face and looked at the ceiling again. "How do you know he was kidnapped?"

"How the hell else do you explain it?!" Sans yelled, eye glowing.

Frisk gave him that sidelong look she gave someone she didn't like very much. "There's no sign of a struggle and the equipment he would need to leave in the middle of a dust storm is gone. Your Frisk walked out of the house under his own power." She looked at Toriel. "How old is he?"

"Sixteen."

"Just old enough to do something stupid and still young enough to go off with someone he trusts. Is anyone else missing? And not just children. Has it been a while since you've seen someone you typically see everyday?"

They both shook their heads.

She looked at me. "Your looking for another Sans and one similar enough to this one," she pointed, "that this world's Frisk would be fooled into thinking it was him from a distance."

"Why would another Sans try to take my Frisk?" he asked.

Frisk shrugged. "You can ask him when you find him."

"How do we do that?" I asked.

"Well, Sheriff, if you wanted to hide out for a while, where would you go?"

"I'd go to Diamond Mesa. There's an abandoned facility out there. It's not a place you can stay in for a long time, but it's sturdy enough."

"Then let's head out," I said.

"Before you go, may I have my knitting from my bag?" Frisk asked.

Sans looked at her for a moment, eye glowing that strange blue-green. "So you can use the needles to get yourself out of the cell? I don't think so."

"And ruin my good bamboo needles? Not a chance!"

Toriel walked over to the purse sitting on the desk and carefully pulled out the knitting. She handed it to Frisk through the bars.

"Miss Toriel!"

Tori's nostrils flared. "Sheriff Sans! This young lady is helping us. I understand your concern, but this is the least we can do. She's here by herself with no one to talk too. Let her have her knitting."

He sighed and looked away. "Yes, ma'am."

"Come on. We need to find your Frisk," I said. My Frisk settled back onto the bed in the cell and started knitting.

Toriel looked sad as we left the sheriff's office. "How could a girl who is so lovely have such a high Level Of ViolencE? She didn't seem evil at all, but..."

"She's a veteran. And when she served actively, it was during a time of war."

"That child has seen war? That is not fair."

"Whether it's fair or not, it made her the person she needed to be to set the monsters in my world free." I stopped and stared at the horizon. Red's Frisk was the person she needed to be to save those she loved, and Red would give anything for her to have never been that person. Was I such an asshole that I wouldn't want that for my Frisk? Was I that selfish? As much as my Frisk avoided talking about her service she was still very proud of it and the skills it gave her. Was I holding onto her pride to excuse myself?

I looked at the ground. Every Sans I had ever known had completely given up in captivity. We all simply lived at that point for our Papyrus and his happiness, trying to fill a void with making the people around us happy. And then Frisk appears and we all do the same thing. We latch onto the hope that one person represents. And it doesn't matter what kind of awful that Frisk has been through or must go through. It means we see daylight, for real, forever.

"Fuck," I whispered.

Neither of the two seemed to hear me though both looked concerned.

"You all right there, partner?" Sans asked.

"Yeah." We walked Toriel back to the orphanage before taking a short cut to Diamond Mesa.

I stared up at the building. It was huge and the windows were all broken, but otherwise seemed to be in good condition.

"Well, at least we know your Frisk is doing okay, otherwise he'd have reset."

Sans grimaced. "That's not really something you should go on."

I looked at him. "Why?"

Sans had the grace to look ashamed. "That'd be my fault. I wasn't exactly a good friend during his journey." He inhaled noisily and walked toward the building.

C's voice came over my comm. "The male version of our Frisk is here. He's chatting up our girl back at the sheriff's office."

"Frisk can handle herself. If she needs me, say so."

"Can do."

"One more thing. Record the conversation so I can hear it later."

"Already happening."

"Thanks." I headed after Sans into the building, looking for signs of life. "What was the this building used for?"

"Don't know," Sans said as he searched. "I remember it being in working condition at some point in the past, but not what went on here."

I felt a tug and a sinking feeling came over me. "Did Gaster run this facility?"

Sans turned, looking confused. "Gaster who?"

I suddenly felt ill. The tugging got worse. "We need to leave. Now." I grabbed his arm.

"Woah there. What's going on?"

xxx

Who was this skeleton monster? And why was my laboratory such a mess? I tightened my grip on his arm and pulled him up to me. I heard the sound of feet pounding the floor in a full run and turned to see a female coming toward me. A _human_ female. _There was a human in my lab_. How was that possible?

She slammed into me with her shoulder, knocking the skeleton monster out of my grip. She grabbed my arm, twisting it around, and floored me. Turning, she grabbed the skeleton monster by the arm and pulled him away.

I rose and threw a tentacle to grab her ankle. She crashed to the floor.

"Great." She looked annoyed. "This one uses tentacles."

What an... _interesting_ voice. I pulled her back toward me and she turned to face me, pulling a gun from under her jacket. I smirked. As if bullets would hurt me.

She fired twice. What hit my arms were not bullets but strange balls that expanded on impact turning into a hard foam and locking my arms to my rib cage. I snarled and used my tentacles to break the foam apart. She used the opportunity to fire twice more at my legs before getting to her feet and running. I broke the foam and teleported directly in front of her.

The human was ready for my teleport. She'd _expected_ it. Who was this human?

She punched me in the sternum, forcing me back. I threw a tentacle and she moved to the side, letting it go past her. She grabbed it and pulled me toward her, jumping to kick me full in the rib cage and knock me down. She rolled to her feet and grabbed the tentacle again, this time pulling me behind her as she ran for the entrance. I wrapped it around her waist and I pulled her toward me. The human slammed into my rib cage and I locked my arms around her, teleporting the both of us to the deepest part of my laboratory.

Ah. Much better. It seems this area was still in good condition if very dusty.

The female slammed both hands hard into my clavicle. My grip on her loosened and she slipped out of my arms. I grabbed her with four tentacles, wrapping them to hold her immobile. She stopped struggling, and watched me carefully.

"You are quite the specimen. I was unaware that human females were trained as warriors. Or is that something particular to you?" I ran my phalanges along her jawline and she did not shy away from my skeletal touch, remaining silent and watchful. Fascinating.

I stepped closer to her, hands clasped behind my back. "If you can behave yourself, you'll find that I'm very kind to my test subjects." I touched her face again. "Now, let's have a look at you, shall we?" I adjusted the tentacles to hold her legs still and her arms behind her back. "I'd like to hear your voice again. What is your name?"

The human remained silent, watchful. Her blue eyes weren't cold and her expression was carefully blank. She wasn't interested in harming me, merely defending herself if necessary. I touched her face again. Her skin was very soft under my phalanges. "Come now. Even in your silence you seem to know who I am. Give me your name."

She remained obstinate. Well, there was more than one way to hear that voice. Using a tentacle, I locked her elbow and pulled on the joint. The human winced, but made no sound. I should have expected that. She appeared to be highly trained. Still, it was _annoying_. I moved my tentacles further up her legs in order to get a better grip.

She inhaled sharply.

I smiled. "Oh? It seems I found a sensitive spot."

"Sorry to interrupt, Doctor, but you have an appointment elsewhere!" I was grabbed from behind and pulled through a portal. The last thing I saw before everything went black was the human looking very worried. How strange.

xxx

I groaned as I sat up. I was back in the sheriff's office.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty." White was giving me his biggest, most annoying smile.

I sighed and rubbed my head. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't show up for dinner and didn't answer your phone, so I called Fase to hunt you down."

"Let me rephrase my question. How did you get here?"

White reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the black and green badges. "Blue dropped it on me a while ago. Now I just need Fase's equations to get around." His smile turned lecherous. "I'll be sure to visit your Frisk often."

"Bite me."

Frisk came in and knelt next to me. "How do you feel?"

"Horrible. And hungry."

"Well, I brought dinner with me. My brother was nice enough to wrap it up for you," White said. He stood and headed out of the cell.

Frisk stood and I grabbed her arm.

"How bad was I this time?"

She rolled her eyes. "You always ask and I always tell you it's fine. Stop asking." She smiled and held out her hands to pull me up. "Come on. Dinner's good. Papyrus made lasagna."

I followed her into a small kitchen. Sans was sitting at the table, poking listlessly at the food, while White noshed on nacho cheese covered, garlic bread.

"So you did use the knitting needles to escape," Sans said.

Frisk snorted. "I would never do that to my nice knitting needles." She passed me a plate and a fork before pointing at Sans. "And you should be thanking your lucky stars. I can't short cut which means I ran all the way out to the mesa to save your boney ass. Thank God I was wearing shoes I can actually run in."

"What tipped you off that something was wrong?" I asked.

"You went off to an abandoned facility on a mesa. That sentence screams trouble." She sighed. "Anyway. Thanks for the save, White."

"Anytime, Frisk."

I ate, thankful that White's brother was a decent chef.

Sans looked at me from under his hat. "So, what happened out there?"

"I became your world's version of the original me. And I'm pretty sure he was a really terrible person," I answered.

"That's why White and I are going back to sweep the facility while you two stay here," Frisk said. She pointed at me. "No arguments."

"Sure." I pointed my fork at White. "Try anything and I'll wipe the floor with your ass."

White snorted. "Like Frisk would rat me out."

C burst to life on Frisk's shoulder. "I would."

White pouted.

Frisk adjusted her purse so that it fit snugly around her waist. "Let's go. I want to look before we lose daylight."

White held out his arm like a gentleman and Frisk took it. They both disappeared.

"I did not agree to this plan," Sans grumbled.

"Too late to complain now. C? Can you play that recording for me, please?"

C appeared on my shoulder. "Sure."

A hologram of my Frisk in the cell and the male version of her at the bars appeared on the table.

"Would you like me to let you out of the cell?" A male voice, but distinctly familiar. Like my Frisk's voice dropped a few octaves.

"I'm fine," my girl answered. She was pulling the stitch markers out of her knitting and bending them.

He chuckled. "I suppose this kind of lock poses no real challenge for either of us. It's a little frustrating."

She stood and reached around the lock, inserting the picks she'd made. She closed her eyes while she worked. "Frustrating?"

"How boring it can be. The lack of challenge." The male version of my Frisk touched the bars, a thoughtful look on his face. "Doesn't it bother you?"

The cell door popped. "Nope."

"I suppose an easy win is still a win." He turned and leaned back against the bars, looking away from her as she opened the doors. "I'd hoped to have a longer conversation, but you're going to have to run to get there in time. Want a different pair of shoes?"

She looked at him. "In time for what?"

"What else? Gaster. And this one _enjoyed_ doing interesting things with his test subjects."

She turned to leave and he grabbed her hand.

"Your shoes?" he asked.

She looked at her feet. "I can run in these."

He let go and she headed out the door. The hologram disappeared.

Sans leaned forward. "That Frisk seems like a copy of yours. Aren't we all copies of the original Sans and Frisk?"

I sat back. "Yes and no. Every variation of the originals have their own variations. For example, there are several versions of me with different Frisks."

"Are you the first Sans of your variation?"

"No. There's one with a little kid Frisk that's the first as far as I know." I shrugged. "Anyway, the only variation we absolutely know is the first of his kind is Red. And Red is the first change from Blue."

"So what's this guy's story?"

I huffed. "I have no idea. The best information we have so far is that he is literally a male version of my Frisk, even down to the specifics of military service. But he's been completely silent about his journey through the Underground. We think he's part of a group calling themselves Midnight Collapse, or at least in league with them. He's been stalking my Frisk since the group attempted to kill us a few months ago."

"So why do you let this guy near her? Seems like a mighty awful idea when you take her LOVE into consideration."

I leaned forward and rested my mandible on top of clasped hands, my eye going black. "Her LV is not an issue. Drop it." I sat back, relaxing. "We get quite a bit intel from the recordings and lately he's been as apt to help as to watch. So his loyalties are in question."

Sans frowned, propping his boots up on the table. One of his steel plated GB's nestled into his lap and he started petting it. "So what's this Midnight Collapse group up too?"

"They're attempting to destroy all timelines."

He looked confused. "Why?"

"The members of the group we've captured are all either completely possessed by Chara or truly genocidal Frisks." I shook my head. "It's a level of crazy I don't understand."

Sans fell into a deep silence, simply petting his GB while absorbing the information. Frisk and White reappeared, looking tired and dirty.

"That place is a real mess," White complained. He shook the dust out of his pale hair.

Frisk dropped into a chair. "We found evidence of two people having been at the facility. It looks like they moved on earlier this afternoon. They likely heard all the noise we made and dashed then. There are tracks that lead off west from the facility. What's west of the facility?"

"New Home," Sans said.

She sighed and stood. "Let's go. It's early enough that people will be awake and about so they'll be able to tell us which way your Frisk went."

I grabbed Frisk's hand. "You okay, Babe? Your eyes are red and puffy."

She pulled one of her lace hankies from her pocket and sneezed. "Allergies," she groaned. "That place was a dust emporium." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I'll be fine in a bit. Let's go."

Sans pointed at Frisk and White as he stood. "You two want to make yourselves look like monsters. Humans don't exactly have it easy in these parts."

White eyed him suspiciously. "So taking your Frisk to New Home was a bad idea for the kidnapper?"

Sans looked away. "Yeah."

Frisk crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would your Frisk not be welcome among monsters?"

He coughed nervously. "Like I said. I wasn't exactly a good friend."

The look of complete and utter disappointment on White's face mirrored Frisk's. He opened his backpack and pulled out his skull mask.

Frisk opened her bag and pulled out her make up kit. She yanked on my sleeve. "Give me a hand?"

I nodded and she pulled off her blouse revealing a pink, skull print bra.

White groaned and pointed at Sans. "Dammit! I am so disappointed in you right now that I can't even enjoy the free show." He sat down, sullen.

Frisk pulled out a cut up fishnet stocking she kept just for this purpose. She held it up to her face while I dusted her with blue powder, giving her the appearance of being a fish monster like Undyne. After covering her shoulders, arms, and chest, she sprayed herself with make up sealer and pulled her blouse back on. She looked like a proper fish woman and I gave her a thumbs up.

She shoved her things back in her bag. "Let's hurry."

I nodded and put an arm around her taking us on a short cut to New Home. The streets were packed and I kept my arm around Frisk to keep us together in the crush. White and Sans appeared behind us. I pulled Frisk into an alley to give us some room.

Sans tipped his hat to people as they went by. A monster woman grabbed his coat and pulled him to her.

"Why'd you bring that human here today? You're lucky the royal guard didn't pound you to dust for it!"

"I'm sorry you're so upset, ma'am, but Frisk is considered a monster by decree. He's got just as much a right to walk around New Home as anyone else."

She huffed. "It'd have been best for everyone had you simply taken care of the human the way you were supposed too." She turned and stomped off.

Frisk grabbed Sans, pulling him deeper into the alley. "Well, that confirms my suspicion that we're dealing with another you. Stay out of sight for minute, Sheriff." She stepped into the crowd, and started asking passersby if they'd seen which way Sans had gone with the human.

Several monsters stopped, marveling at the boss monster and asking if she was related to Undyne. It didn't take her long to get the information she needed. She waved us along and we followed her through the streets to the castle. She stopped just short of path to the entrance and turned to take a side path to the park in the center of the city. Frisk stopped at a spider bake sale vendor to buy a spider doughnut and talk up the vendor. After getting confirmation on which way Frisk and the other Sans went, she headed into the park, munching on the doughnut. She stopped in the center of the park.

"Okay, time to fan out. They're likely hiding somewhere in the park to wait out the evening crowds and avoid harassment. Everyone pick a corner of the park and work your way toward it. When you hit the edge, work your way back in to make sure you didn't miss them. Remember to look up and check in the trees. We need to be quick because the sun is setting fast and we are losing daylight."

She turned and headed off to the north. White headed south. Sans went east while I took the west corner. Taking a nice stroll along the paths meandering through the park, I nodded at passersby. There was a soft rustle above me. I kept walking for a bit and doubled back around a tree, looking up. There sat a Sans very similar to the one from this world and a human teenager.

"C?" I whispered, "Let Frisk know I found them. When she's ready, I'll grab them both and short cut back to Snowdin."

C's voice floated softly from my comm. "Got it."

I watched them, catching snippets of conversation. This Sans was female if the voice was any indication. They both seemed to enjoy each other's company, talking in a way that came naturally. I sighed. This whole situation was going to turn into the suck real fast.

"Everyone's ready, Bones," C said.

I floated up behind them, collared them both and short cut back to Snowdin.

The first volley of bones came as soon as we touched ground outside the Sheriff's office. I summoned a shield of bones to deflect the attack. Sheriff Sans was laying on the ground, letting the volley fly over head and starring in shock at Frisk and White. They'd caught the rhythm of the attack and were dancing through it, dodging easily. It was too slow for anyone who trained with me or White's brother on a regular basis.

In a desperate move, the female Sans summoned a massive bone and ran at Frisk. She stopped dead and opened her arms, sparing. The female Sans stopped, letting the bone fall to the ground.

"Are you really sparing me?" She shook her head. "It's a poor trick." She raised the bone.

Frisk remained still, arms open. The female Sans swung and Frisk stepped back, but did not retaliate. She swung again and Frisk stepped away again.

"Please stop, Sans! I really think she means it!" the teen yelled.

The female Sans stopped and looked at my Frisk. "I accept."

Frisk dropped her arms. "Oh good. My arms were getting tired." She crossed her arms over her chest. "So what's the story, morning glory? Why kidnap this Frisk?"

The teen came over to her. She sighed. "I need a Frisk similar enough to mine to open the barrier in my world."

"So you came here to kidnap this one?"

"You don't understand. I messed up! My Frisk didn't come back. I stood next to that save point everyday for _twenty years!_ " She looked up at us. "This Frisk is the closest to being mine. He can complete the journey for her and we can all go free." She put her head in her hands. "I just want my little sister to see the sun."

The teen Frisk patted her on the back. "It's okay! I said I would go with you!" He looked at us. "You won't stop me, will you?"

I sighed, suddenly heartsick. I knelt next to him. "You can go with her, but, I'm sorry, kiddo. You can't take another Frisk's place. You can't complete the journey for someone else."

"I still want to try," he said and I could see it in his eyes: Determination.

"So how did you find out about this timeline and then get here?" I asked.

The female Sans reached into her pocket and pulled out a green and black badge. "This badge and a note that said I might be able to find a happy ending if I found a new Frisk just appeared one day with the equations. So I followed them and it brought me here, to him." She looked at the teen.

A sinking feeling hit me. "Have you tried to go back home yet?"

"I did several times after getting the kid. I think the equations to return home are wrong."

"Repeat them," White said.

She closed both eye sockets and started chanting out the figures. White's chin dropped to his chest, eyes closed, solving the equations in his head. He disappeared and just as quickly reappeared. He held up a hand so no one would interrupt his calculations and he disappeared again only to reappear a moment later. He tried a third time with the same result.

He looked at Frisk and I, and shook his head. "The equation's right. The timeline is gone."

The female Sans sank to her knees before falling to all fours and wept. The teen dropped down next to her, hugging her tightly. My Frisk sighed heavily and I put my arms around her. She looked at me for a moment before putting her laying her head against my rib cage.

"How did this happen?" Sheriff Sans asked.

"She was tricked into leaving so she couldn't be there to stop the death of her Frisk," White said. He looked at us, confused. "Who said that?"

When I shook my head, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the badge. It was vibrating in his hand.

 _Not fair... Don't cry... Don't cry..._

Frisk and I ran over to him, staring at the badge.

"Oh God. They're still there." He grabbed my jacket to pull me down to his height, suddenly excited. "They're still there!" He let go. "If the Frisk used to make this is contained in that sliver of void, we might be able to get them out! They might not be gone at all!" He grabbed Frisk, bent her over, and kissed her. When I went to grab him, he twirled Frisk into my chest, and stepped out of my reach. "I need to see Blue. I'll leave you to sort this out." He fell backwards into a portal.

Frisk looked at me. "Please don't kill him the next time you see him." She headed over to the female Sans and got her to sit up. "Come on, Sans. Bones and I will take you with us."

"Can I come too?" the teen asked. He looked at Sans.

The Sheriff sighed. "You'll need to talk to Miss Toriel about that, bud. But I won't stop ya."

"I'll be right back," he said. He hugged her tightly before running off.

Frisk walked the female Sans into the Sheriff's office and sat her down. She went into the cell to pick up her knitting and sketch book.

"Hello?" She picked up a pair of shoes. They were a match for the ones she ruined with today's unplanned adventure. She frowned, but didn't put them down.

The teen ran into the office with a bag over his shoulder and Toriel following close behind.

She gasped and touched my Frisk's face. "Had I not seen you before, I would believe you to be a monster!"

Frisk winked at her. "I'm very good at my job, Miss Toriel." Frisk looked over at the teen. "I take it by the bag, you're letting your Frisk leave with us."

Toriel sighed heavily and very sadly. "Maybe, if he weren't here, other monsters would realize how much we need him." She ruffled his hair.

"I promise I'll come back," he said. He hugged her tightly. "I just... I need to fix her. I think I can." He looked at my Frisk. "Does that make sense?"

Frisk nodded. "Let's go." She helped the female Sans stand and I took us home. We landed just outside Frisk's office.

Asriel poked his head out of the lab. "You two are really late. Did something..." He trailed off looking at the female Sans and teen Frisk. He pointed back into the lab. "Howdy! I'm gonna get the keys for the suite next to the one you share with Paps."

Sans grabbed my jacket. "Was that Prince Asriel?!"

I removed her boney hands from my jacket but held them in my own. "In our world, Queen Toriel died taking Chara's body across the barrier." I looked over at Frisk. She was leaning against the wall, seriously tired.

"So there's no Mom? No Flowey?" the teen asked.

I shook my head. "No."

Asriel came back out with a set of keys. He stopped to check Frisk. She gave him a soft smile. He looked at me.

"I'll handle these two. Why don't you help Frisk get washed up and into bed?"

I nodded and put an arm around my Frisk.

The teen suddenly hugged Asriel fiercely. The goat prince smiled and hugged him back.

"Come along," he said and led the newcomers down the hall.

I walked Frisk to her apartment. "Are you awake enough to shower?"

"If I say no will you help me bathe?"

I smiled. "No teasing."

She chuckled softly. "I'm awake enough. You know that I'd never cheat on you with White, right?"

I sighed. "Yeah. I know you aren't attracted to someone unless you have a deep emotional connection to them first." I frowned. "Are you sure you're okay with the other version of you stalking you?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yes and no. This group is using a code used by my special ops unit a long time ago at the same time that a male me shows up. That's not a coincidence. I'm just not sure what his end game is. Is he trying to recruit me? Manipulate me? Is he simply talking to the only other person who understands his experience in ops?" She frowned deeply. "Whatever he is, he's dangerous, but talkative." She looked up at me, filled with determination. "If I have enough time to get his mouth running, we'll learn a lot. We need to learn the identity of whoever is making the badges and directing their travel."

I stopped inside the door to her apartment. She wrapped her arms around my rib cage underneath my jacket, fingers gently caressing my spine. I sighed contentedly, putting a hand in her hair.

"Wow. We both seriously need to get cleaned up," I said, running my hand through her hair. "Though I'm not sure I should leave you alone in your apartment."

Frisk looked at me, confused. "Why?"

"Well, when you get naked in the bathroom, the shower gets turned on."

She shoved me out the door and slammed it shut.

Author's note: "There's a version of me with a little kid Frisk." That is a reference to Borurou's Underpatch AU which, when finished, will be the official AU home of the official Gaster!Sans.


	8. Ep 8 - Red vs Who?

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community creation. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

Special Disclaimers!: (1)The Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus we meet in this episode are not part of an official AU but are based on the fanart of 22o22. This artist's work is phenomenal! (2) Though Underswap does not make an appearance in this series, part of the basic idea will appear here, so credit for that goes to the Underswap creator Morty.

1\. Remember to review! I don't know how I'm doing if you don't tell me!

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence. Red's in this, so expect a ton of foul language and over the top insults.

3\. To avoid confusion right out, White is our narrator for this episode.

Ep. 8: Red Vs. Who?

Bored.

Bored.

Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored.

I checked the clock. It would be hours before Papyrus came home, days before I'd see Frisk again (the little punk just had to take that job over seas), and months before I saw results on isolating the Frisk trapped in my badge and possibly getting them out. I didn't want to watch MTT do whatever he was doing today on tv. I didn't want to re-read the latest issue of Annalen de Physik. I didn't want to go to the Lab and harass Alphys. I didn't even want to go to Grillby's.

I grabbed a restaurant sized bag of nacho cheese from the fridge and heated it in the microwave. When it was done, I squished it around a bit to distribute the heat. Falling backwards over the back of the couch, I laid upside down, head hanging off the front. I opened the bag of cheese and let it drip into my mouth. If Papyrus came home early and saw me like this, he'd chew me out big time. And I wouldn't be bored anymore.

"*tibia-honest, i didn't think he'd be this bored."

I looked up and saw two pairs of tibia and fibula under black shorts. One white striped and one yellow striped.

"*we've all done this at least once right? fuckin' riot watchin' white do it though."

I refused to get up. "What's up?"

Blue shrugged. "*i got a job for the two of you."

"The two of us? As in me and _him_?" I indicated Red with the business end of my cheese bag. "As in two people joined together in mission related partnership?" I sat up. "What, in the name of all that is good and right with the multi-verse, do you need me and _him_ to do that you can't handle on your own?"

Blue smiled and looked to the left. "*welp. i tried recruiting several times from one particular timeline but i always get sent packin.' now fase has detected an anomaly there and i know they aren't asking for help. i'd go, but i doubt it'd do any good, so i'm sending you two. fix the problem and recruit that world's papyrus."

"Papyrus?" I looked at Red and he nodded. "A swap world? I haven't actually been to one of those." I was instantly not bored. "What else you got?"

"*it's also a human timeline. a plague hit the human population and reduced it to almost nothing. the monsters didn't want to kill the remaining humans so they shipped them off to a tropical archipelago in the pacific surrounded by a barrier. the human population is now resistant to the plague but not completely immune. they only recently found a cure."

"Wait." I looked at him suspiciously. "Why aren't you sending Bones and his Frisk?"

"*because you two are best suited for this job. and, uh, well, i wouldn't be able to budge them right now."

Red picked up where Blue left off, "*a hot sauce convention running in the same city as a muscle car show, physics symposium, sci-fi fest, vintage swap meet, and sewing retreat."

"Woah."

"*yeah. the planets really aligned there," Blue said. He rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets. "*you up for this?"

I stood. "Yeah. Will I be susceptible to their plague?"

"*fase says no."

"Let me pack a bag." I hopped out the door to the shed to grab my equipment bag. When I came back in, Blue was gone and Red was lounging on the couch.

"*ready, pretty boy?"

"Cocksucker."

"*assclown."

"Dickhole."

"*cheesedick."

"Weaksauce."

He pointed at me with a big, shit-eating grin. "*hey! i like that one! i'm stealing it. papy will _hate_ it!" He held out a hand and I took it. As we traveled through the void a hapless person floated by us, spinning slowly.

"*was that a vampire?"

"Maybe? He was saying something about the Illuminati."

We landed on a beach. The sun was rising over soft sand and beautiful waves. There were humans in the water, waiting in a line on surfboards for a good wave to come in. I pulled my hood up to shield my face. Sitting near us was a strange, black furred monster that was a weird cross between a rabbit and a cat with a thick flat tail. Flowey was wrapped around it's shoulder, sleeping peacefully in the sun.

"Well, we found Frisk."

At the mention of it's name, the monster looked at us. Squealing excitedly, it ran over and jumped into Red's arms.

"A monster Sans!" a feminine voice squeaked. "Look at that gold tooth!" She tapped it with one claw and Red laughed.

"*aren't you a little cutie!" he chortled. "*careful now. the teeth are sharp."

Frisk giggled, hiding her mouth behind her paws. She jumped into my arms. "You're a Sans too! Why are you so weird-pale? And so skinny?"

"When any animal lives underground for enough generations they lose skin pigment. And I'm just skinny like my dad," I answered. "Can you tell us where your Papyrus might be?"

"He's probably still in bed. I came out with Sans to watch him surf." She pointed, indicating a man in a red and black, short sleeved rash guard and long black trunks, waiting in the line for a wave to come along. The hair on the top of his head was bleached out in a stripe and pulled back in a short, bushy pony tail. It appeared to be a common style. Most of the men in the water sported a similar look. The bone mask he wore over his face contrasted heavily with the tan of his skin.

Frisk waved excitedly to him, shouting, "Sans! Sans! We have visitors!"

He waved back in acknowledgement and rode the next wave straight toward the shore, jumping and pulling his board up while in the waist deep. He held out a wet hand covered in henna designs to shake. "Off worlders, huh? Man, Papy's not gonna be happy to see you."

Red took his hand first. "*sans, but everyone calls me red."

" _The_ Red? The very first variation? Wowie!"

Red shrugged. "*as far as any of us know."

Frisk sneezed and it was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen.

Sans reached for me and I took his hand. "White."

"Nice to meet another human, but, man, look at this skin! Are you going to be okay in this sun?"

I smiled. "It's why the hood's up."

Sans waved us along. "I need to rinse my board. After that, I'll take you over to the house. Papy never gets out of bed at anything like a decent time on a Saturday."

Frisk jumped over to his shoulder, Flowey still perfectly asleep. "Can I help?"

He scratched the top of her head. "Always."

We followed him into the shade.

"*mighty peaceful place you got here," Red commented.

Sans carefully set his board on a rack while Frisk grabbed a hose. "It is now. It wasn't always that way. Before Frisk and Flowey washed up on the beach, we'd all completely given up. Papy kept researching until I was hit. After that, he was just done."

He took the hose from Frisk and sprayed down the board. "Frisk was the watershed moment." He scratched Frisk behind the ears, and she mewed happily before sneezing. "Papy found her on the beach and just fell in love with her. He couldn't bear to have her infected. Turns out that she carries anti-bodies that fight the infection. It didn't take long to isolate and test vaccines. We're all cured now, but we still bear the scars." He reached behind his head and undid the clasp on the bone mask. It came away to reveal significant scarring around his mouth. He hosed off the inside of the mask and his face before drying both with a towel and clasping the mask back into place.

"You guys good with grilled chicken for lunch?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "But you don't have to feed us."

"Nah. Mom will love the company."

Ooh. My mouth started watering. I had yet to meet a Toriel who wasn't also an awesome cook. We followed Sans and Frisk (Flowey still asleep) down a shaded trail to a little town. The sign said 'Welcome to Sunrise.' Grillby's was a stand here, the seating completely outside under a grouping of large umbrellas for shade. The sweet smell of grilled pineapple filled the air. Sans stopped to wash the sand from his feet at a spigot on the side of the house, before welcoming us inside.

The smell that hit my nose, however, wasn't the sweet, sugary smell of Toriel's cooking, or the slightly stale smell of a bachelor pad.

It was rosemary and blackberries.

It was the smell of a long lost home and a long lost mother.

I looked at Red and he looked just as stunned as me. I could see a woman in the kitchen. An exact copy of the form that even hundreds of years had not managed to erase from my memory.

God dammit, Blue! There was no way he hadn't known about this!

Lucida Gaster turned to look at us with a smile. I clenched my fists and my jaw, refusing to move. If I didn't, I would hug her and refuse to let go.

"*fuckin' blue. i'm gonna kill him the next time I see him," Red muttered.

"Two more Sans-es?" Her smile fell. "I'm long gone for both of you, aren't I?" She walked over to us just as graceful and perfect as I remembered. The scarring on her arms, neck, and jaw did nothing to detract from the beauty. She hugged us both and I grabbed her around the waist, burying my face against her shoulder, shaking.

"More?" I could hear the sneer in the voice. I looked up at a sharp faced man with barely concealed malice in his eyes. He was shirtless, baring a toned body covered in black tattoo work including a gaster blaster on each bicep. I imagine that if Red's brother had skin, this is what he'd look like. The bone mask over his tan skin was vicious looking to say the least.

Lucida let go of us and stepped back to regard her son. "You will not be rude to our guests, Papyrus."

Papyrus looked away. "Fine." He came down the stairs and scooped up Frisk possessively, petting the top of her head. She sneezed and rubbed at her nose, before rubbing her head against his chest.

Red watched him like a snake coolly regarding its prey. Papyrus returned the look.

"Hey!" Sans said. "Lunch is ready out back. Come on."

Red turned away first, turning his back. A very calculated show of contempt. Papyrus took it for the slight it was meant to be, but didn't return it, suddenly unsure how to deal with someone he'd been previously sure was here to recruit him.

Sometimes, I forget that Red really is a magnificent bastard.

I gestured for Papyrus to go ahead of me and he scowled. I smiled, not the least bit intimidated, and went first.

The backyard was prepped for a picnic. I sat down at the table while Sans brought over a massive platter filled with chicken legs, grilled and slathered with BBQ sauce, steaming corn on the cob, and grilled melon. Instead of plates, banana leaves were laid out on the table. Papyrus pulled out a bottle of banana ketchup and drank it while Frisk hopped from his shoulder to sit at the table. Both brother's took off the bone masks to eat, Papyrus revealing significant scaring around his mouth.

"Thank you for having us on such short notice," I said.

Lucida smiled. "It's no trouble."

Oh God. That smile! Oh how I missed that smile.

"*so how did you end up here, little lady?"

Frisk giggled. "I fell off a boat. Poor Flowey tried to save me and I only ended up pulling him in with me. We washed up on the beach and Papyrus found me." She wiped at her whiskers. "What are your Frisk's like? Can I see pictures?"

"Sure," I said and pulled out my phone. I swiped to unlock, revealing a picture of myself, Paps, and Frisk at the kid's graduation. Alphys had taken that particular picture.

"A boy!" she giggled. "He's cute!"

"He's a punk," I said.

She took a bite of chicken, licking the sauce from her face with a tiny pink tongue. "And you?" she asked Red.

Red fished out his phone and held up a picture of his kiddo and Bone's girl in matching tank top pajamas, hamming it up for the camera. "*the kiddo's my frisk. she's a little genius and she knows it."

I sighed. "Okay, how do you rate a pic of _her_? And one with cleavage showing?! Not fair."

Red smiled at me, big and mean. "*i've got a nice one of her in a bathing suit too."

"Yeah. Keep pouring lemon juice on that wound. I'm sure it'll work out for you."

"*suck it, white." He poured a long string of mustard on his pierced tongue, managing to make the act both lewd and insulting.

Lucida swatted his arm. And he gave her a smile I imagined he'd given his mother once upon a time: a charming devil.

Frisk carefully took the phone and held it up to Papyrus. "Do you think I'd look like that if I were human?" She pointed to Red's kiddo.

He petted her head, not looking away from the photo. "Maybe." The look on his face had softened. "Who's Frisk is this?"

Red shot me a look, eyes glowing wickedly. "Sugar plum there is Bone's Frisk. Slide left two pics."

Papyrus moved the pictures along to one of Bones and his Frisk in their uniform bomber jackets. His eyebrow twitched and the real reason Blue had sent us hit me. He and Bones might have either come off as best buds or hated rivals real fast. Papyrus rubbed the scaring on his jaw while looking at the skeleton monster. He flipped back to the first picture, eyes still on Bone's Frisk.

"*she surfs." Red took a long drink of mustard to hide his smile. Devious bastard.

"Oh?" Sans looked excited, smiling wide. "Long or short board?"

There was that eyebrow twitch again.

"*long."

"What happened to her arms?" Papyrus asked.

"*you caught that, huh? she went through a window fighting an off-worlder who was trying to kidnap my frisk the night before the pic was taken. she's one tough sugar cookie."

Papyrus handed the phone back and started eating with the practiced grace of someone who wished to keep clean despite the failings of the flesh. Frisk sneezed again.

"Poor woman!" Lucida said. "Is she really okay?"

"*yeah. it's nothin' she can't handle. dad and i had her to rights pretty quick."

Lucida raised a curious eyebrow at the mention of 'dad.' Come to think of it. I hadn't seen a Wing Dings or a mention of him. Something nagged at me and I replayed coming into the house in my memory. There hadn't been any photos in the living room, just a book shelf filled with books on botany... and a small, but lovely urn. A pair of wedding rings on a cord lovingly tied to the lid. Crap.

"Why are you here?" Papyrus asked.

I took a page from Red's book of misdirection. "Fase detected an anomaly. Since you're reluctant to even pick up the phone, we stopped by to let you know."

"So you've let me know," he said.

I waited for the follow up where he kicked us out. I didn't come. Hot damn! Did we really have his number on a photo of someone he'd never met? I wonder if Red had an inkling that this might happen or if he was rolling with the info as he got it. Whatever it was, it was at least distracting me from Lucida's nearness. Flowey was still asleep on Frisk's shoulder.

I pointed at him. "Shouldn't he be up?"

Frisk lifted one of Flowey's petals with a paw and let it drop. "He won't get up until mid-afternoon. The sun is too nice today for him to do anything other than photosynthesis." She sneezed again.

Papyrus finished his meal and looked at Red and I. "Any idea what this anomaly might be?"

"*there's a group going around, destroying timelines. they call themselves 'midnight collapse.' we figure it's them trying to pull something. and they're clever about it too. doing things that would leave a timeline defenseless to attack."

"They are careful to hit the weakest links in the chain. The most recent timeline they destroyed involved tricking a Sans who was desperate to open the barrier into finding someone else's Frisk to do it since her's left through the barrier and didn't come back. They wrecked house while she was gone and no one was able to stand in their way."

The assembled frowned.

Papyrus looked thoughtful for a moment. "The weakest link here is Frisk. She's small, portable, and likes to get into trouble." He petted her head absently, and she leaned into it.

Sans snorted. "Frisk isn't a weak link." He pointed at his brother with a chicken bone. "You're the one who becomes a mess if she's even the slightest bit out of sorts."

Papyrus gave his brother a look but didn't argue the point. Frisk sneezed again, rubbing her nose and eyes. He turned her face up toward him. "When did the sneezing start?"

She squeezed her eyes shut a couple times like they hurt. "Yesterday." She rubbed her nose.

He put a hand to the back of her neck and held it there for a little bit. "You feel like you're running a fever. Let's go check that out." He put her up on his shoulder and headed back into the house. Red stood and followed him.

"I'm sorry my brother is such a killjoy," Sans said. "He just hopes that if he ignores a problem hard enough it will go away."

"And everyone of us learns the hard way that life doesn't work like that," I said, staring after them. "Thank you very much for lunch."

Lucida nodded as I stood and headed after them. Inside, Frisk was wrapped in a blanket shaking feverishly, and gasping for air.

Papyrus held her close. "This onset is too fast. I won't be able to figure out what's wrong with her before she dies." His voice was even but panic touched his eyes.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"*to fix this we're going to have to make a metaphorical deal with the devil. and by metaphorical I mean put on a shirt."

"Will this timeline be secure without you?"

Papyrus smiled with a dark kind of pride. "Sans can handle it on his own, but if push comes to shove, no one can handle what Mom dishes out."

Red grabbed Papyrus' arm and I grabbed Red's jacket. We landed in a laboratory lit with only the barest essential lighting.

"Oh no," I breathed and face palmed. I honestly should have seen this coming.

A pair of ephemeral, soot gray arms wrapped around my neck and sickly yellow eyes smiled up at me. "Hello, White. I do so love it when you visit." His voice slithered from him like a happy snake fat on a recent meal.

"And I hate you."

"*this is an emergency, black."

Black floated away from me to stand on the other side of table, putting space between himself and Red, a sign that he was going to ask for something particularly vile. He threw his hands in the air dramatically. "Then let us begin the negotiations!" His ephemeral fists slammed on the table with a reverberating bang, made momentarily solid with the force of his will. "I want _her._ "

"*seriously? sugar blossom is having a good time this weekend. don't ruin it."

"You have a phone." He smiled wide and nasty. "Call."

"*you have her number, asswipe. you call her."

He pouted. "She won't take my calls."

"*and whose fuckin' fault is that, dickweed?"

Frisk weezed loudly from Papyrus' arms.

Red sneered and pulled out his phone.

"Oh do put it on speaker!"

"*fuckin' twat." Red put the phone down on the table and selected Bone's Frisk from the contacts list.

"Hey, Sans! What's up?"

"*an emergency. and we don't have much in the way of time. we've got a frisk who is very ill and black's bein' a jackass."

Black leaned over the table. "Hello, my darling!"

There was an exasperated sigh on the other end. "Hello, Sans. What do you want?"

"Oh darling! So formal! You know you can call me 'sweetie.'"

"I don't call anyone 'sweetie.' _What do you want_?"

He made as if he was checking under non-existent fingernails. "The same as last time."

She groaned. "Last time I was so nauseous I was fetal for hours and had nightmares for weeks." She sighed. "Fine. But you have to come to me. I'm not dragging Bones into this just to travel to you."

Black giggled. "Deal." He was suddenly floating in front of Papyrus, looking over Frisk. "Well, aren't you a cutie-patootie!"

She mewled sadly.

"Let's start with an antibiotic while I figure out what you've been infected with." He waved a hand. A cabinet opened and a syringe with a clear liquid flew to Frisk. It impaled her arm and injected it's contents. She shuddered but did not cry out. He pointed to a medical surgical bed. "Please lay her down there."

Papyrus watched him suspiciously while laying Frisk down. "Don't you have a Frisk?"

Those sickly yellow eyes rolled up to look at Papyrus. "Of course! I keep her soul in a jar on my desk."

"Liar."

Black frowned. "Party pooper. You're supposed to freak out." He sighed. "Speaking of my Frisk..." A control panel on the wall lit up. "Papy? Could you loan me Frisk? I need her hands."

The door at the top of the stairs opened and a young woman the color of burnt sienna, in blue dress and lab coat came down, leaping the last couple steps. She hurried over, securing a messy bun on her head with a pen. "What do you need?"

His tone changed, suddenly all business. "Nurse duty to start and then help with identification."

She carefully checked Frisk's vitals, writing them directly on the bed sheet with a marker. "When did symptoms start?"

"Yesterday according to her," Papyrus said.

"Does she have a habit of hiding illness or injury?"

"No." He gave her a confused look. "That's a very odd question."

She looked up at him. "I've met a lot of me's. The majority of Frisks are very good at faking health and happiness for the sake of those around them." She pulled a package of sterile needles and vials from a cabinet. "Would you give me a hand, Red?"

"*sure, angel." He took the package and started on blood samples.

She lifted one of Flowey's leaf arms and let it drop. He was still asleep. She shrugged and worked around him. "Symptoms?"

"It started with sneezing for a day and then escalated to fever, chills, shaking, and wheezing within a few minutes," Papyrus said.

"Papyrus? You're a medical researcher, aren't you?" Black asked as he set up a microscope on the table.

"Yes."

"Help me prep the samples please."

Papyrus petted Frisk's head gently for a moment before heading over to the table to be Black's hands.

Black floated over to his Frisk, who had a stethoscope to the furry chest under her hand. "What does it sound like?"

"From the vitals, symptoms, and what I'm hearing right now, the A09 grouping."

Black grimaced. He looked down at the Frisk on the bed. "White, would you use that voodoo of yours on her?"

"Voodoo?"

He waved me toward her. "That thing you do that calms Frisks down."

I pulled a chair over. "It doesn't work on all of them." I took Frisk's little paw in my hand and let my magic sooth her through her chills and put her into a deep sleep.

He smiled at me in an oh so knowing way. "Oh yes it does."

"*stop bein' a cockbite, black." Red finished with the samples.

Black's Frisk went over to a cabinet filled with binders and pulled one off. It was exceptionally thin.

"Will that binder really have the answer?" I asked.

She looked up at me. "A09 is a very small grouping," she said. She looked at the binder in her hand. "A very small, very lethal grouping."

Red handed Papyrus the samples and he prepped them while Black's Frisk propped the binder up for Black's use. Papyrus loaded samples while Black looked through the microscope. Frisk flipped the pages in the binder for him while he looked back and forth comparing. He stopped her at one page, checking back and forth three times. He motioned Frisk over to look. He didn't bother to move and she stepped into his ghostly form to look in the microscope. She nodded.

His eyes started to glow. "This is A0935. Good old, A0935! Killed off ten timelines all by itself with no help from anyone else." He smiled gleefully. "Killed off twenty more with a little help."

"Do you have a cure for it?"

His entire demeanor changed, becoming serious and a little insulted. "Of course I do." He looked to his Frisk. "Please set up an IV drip and oxygen."

Frisk nodded and set to work.

Those sickly yellow eyes turned on Papyrus. "There are a large number of unusual anti-bodies in her blood. Do you know what they counter act?"

He nodded. "The plague that nearly wiped out humanity in my timeline."

"Tell me about it."

"Children have a natural immunity to it until after the onset of puberty, contracting it between eighteen and twenty years of age. If it doesn't kill you within the first month of infection it rots out the flesh around your mouth and causes significant scaring on the neck, chest, and arms. " He undid the clasp on his mask to reveal his face.

Black nodded in a detached way. "Sounds like A0742." He waved a hand and a binder few to him from the case. He flipped it over to the necessary page and handed it to Papyrus. "Tell me if this is it."

Papyrus looked over the data on the page. "This is it." He looked at Black. "Does this mean you have a cure? That one was already here?"

Black shook his head. "A07's are hard to cure. I've only ever managed a vaccine for one of them and it's only effective for children." He looked over at Frisk, working away on the Frisk in the bed. "I'm interested in a trade. Copies of your notes and samples of the anti-bodies in exchange for whatever supplies you might need for your work or copies of my work and samples to accompany them."

Papyrus blinked. "I'll take that deal in exchange for the copies of your work and samples." He came over to the bed, and took Frisk's little paw from my hand.

"Excellent." His smile changed, returning to wicked. "Now all you have to worry about is every other monster in your timeline."

"Don't be mean, Sans," Frisk said as she set up the IV. "A0935 only has two modes of infection. You have to be injected with it or bitten by someone who has had full onset of the disease. She doesn't have any bite marks, but she does have one nice little red mark underneath her arm." She inserted the IV and placed a tiny oxygen mask over that cute little snout. "When we're done here, I'll help you hunt down the Frisk who did this. They're likely still hanging around in your timeline to watch the inevitable meltdown and clean up with an attack."

"*you're givin' yourself away there, angel."

Black frowned viciously. "Are you itching that badly for a fight, Frisk? I thought we'd settled this years ago."

Frisk frowned. "I didn't mean it like that. Midnight Collapse's attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, matching the right kind of talent to each job. I know I can figure out where this little shit is hiding in their universe and ferret them out." She looked at her feet. "I have no desire to fight anymore. The rest of you can handle that."

"*you're saying you think it's a version of you." Red grinned. "*your husband would not be happy to see you put yourself in danger, angel."

"What's going on?" Papyrus whispered.

"She attempted to kill everyone on her first run in the underground," I answered quietly. "It's why Red calls her angel. It's short for 'Angel of Death.'"

"Interesting." He regarded her with a smile I'd seen before... on Red's brother. Was he a Fell variation given flesh? "I appreciate your offer of help and I accept it. While Frisk is recovering here and relatively safe, we'll head back and find the culprit."

"Papy is going to chew me out hard core," Black whined. "Hurry up and leave before I have a chance to stop you." He floated over to his patient.

Papyrus gently petted his Frisk's sleeping head before heading over to Red. Red gave Black's Frisk a lewd smile and wrapped an arm around her. She gave him the same smile and eye roll that I'd seen a hundred times on Bones' Frisk and put a hand on his shoulder. Papyrus and I grabbed his jacket and we were back at the beach.

"*you're up, angel."

"I've got this," Frisk said. She headed straight for Grillby's and the bar. "Hey!" She waved and a man with hair dyed red, orange, and yellow came over. "I'm visiting and lost track of my sister. Have you seen someone who looks a lot like me?"

Grillby nodded. "She was here for lunch and then headed toward the Library."

"Thank you!" She leaned over the bar to kiss his cheek and he blushed bright red. She headed over to us. "It is a version of me. She'll wait to strike when she knows Frisk is dead and then pick off everyone in the house one by one."

"So fake that Frisk is there and dead? We can handle that," I said.

"Where you guys even semi-publicly visible together at any point?" she asked.

"We had lunch together in the back yard," Papyrus answered.

"Then expect her to have called for back up." She pulled the pen from her hair and drew a crude map of town on her arm. "I would arrange my back up behind the house in the brush and let them head in as fodder. They would keep you busy while she went after Frisk's body." She put three dots on her arm behind the house.

"*why would she want the body?"

She took a deep breath. "How would this place react if someone threw your Frisk's dead body down in the middle of Grillby's crowd?"

Papyrus frowned, a red glow behind his eyes.

Red grinned maniacally. "*the same thing that would happen in my universe! it'd kick off a blood bath."

Frisk nodded. "Despite the tropical setting, this is a Fell variation." She put her hair back up with the pen. "I'll be at Grillby's. Please don't let the fight go there. I..." She looked away for a minute. "I don't want to relapse." She ran off.

Red looked at me. "*sneak around the back and wait for us to make a ruckus inside."

I nodded and waited.

"*ass monkey."

"Dick licker."

"*numbnuts."

"Mattress back."

Red nodded appreciatively. "*that one's not even particularly dirty. but it demonstrates that you know me far too well."

Papyrus stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, but couldn't hide his smile. "If you two are done romancing each other, I'd like to finish this business."

Red and I laughed. I snapped my fingers, pointed at Papyrus with a wink, and fell backwards into a portal. I stepped out in the brush behind the house and almost on top of three Frisks. I froze and waited. I didn't wait long. Papyrus let out a long, loud bellow of deep anguish. All three moved toward the house.

I snapped my fingers and the familiar shing of magic turned their souls blue. I lifted them up and slammed them into the ground as Red, Papyrus, and Sans came out of the house. I lifted them for another slam and was struck in the back. I let go of the three in the air and turned on my attacker. It was a girl very similar in look to Black's Frisk. I blocked her next attack with a bone in front of my chest.

She attacked again and I dodged to the side, letting her hit the ground. She was completely off balance.

"What's wrong? Expecting someone else?"

She scrambled to her feet and ran straight for Papyrus while one of the three I had dropped came right for me. He looked like a red eyed version of my little brother.

They had planned for us. I wonder if they know we train especially for them?

I punched him in the throat as he pulled out a gun causing him to throw it instead. I caught it and turned, slamming him in the head with the butt to knock him out. As he fell, he hit a rock at the wrong angle to be good. I felt a coldness sweep over me and shook it off. I popped the magazine out of the gun and shoved it in one pocket of my hoodie and the gun in the other.

Sans slid into the Chara in front of him, knocking him down and Red called a bone strike from the ground, ripping through the red eyed freak. Papyrus kicked the Chara in front of him hard enough to lift him into the and hit him with a large bone hard enough to crack his skull.

Where was the Frisk that had gone after me? There was a scream from inside the house and we all rushed inside. The leader lay on the floor at Lucida's feet, coughing blood. There were several large puncture wounds in her chest. The kind I'd seen on someone after being taken down by Red's father.

"Go ahead. Kill me." She coughed. "It won't bring your Frisk back. She won't even be able to reset with her soul being so fragile."

Papyrus set the massive bone he'd summoned on his shoulder. "My Frisk is absolutely fine."

"Impossible!" She coughed, spitting up blood. "There's no cure for what I injected her with!"

"About that," I started, "How did you manage to infect her?"

Her eyes rolled up toward me. "She was napping on the beach. It wasn't that hard."

There was a red gleam in Papyrus' eyes. "Do we need her for anything?"

"*nope."

His swing was swift and brutal.

Lucida sighed. "My poor kitchen floor."

Sans put an arm around her. "No worries! I'll help you clean!" He looked at us. "Is Frisk all right?"

I nodded. "We'll head back to pick her up."

"Good." He smiled and there was a red glow to his eyes I recognized as being distinct to Red. "We'll clean up here."

"They'll all be wearing green and black badges. Grab those off of the bodies."

Lucida and Sans nodded. We headed over to Grillby's. Frisk was sipping a drink out of a coconut at a table near the road. "Any injuries?"

I shook my head.

"Good. I'm probably too tipsy to work anyway. Was I right?"

Papyrus nodded. "Your double tried to go after my mother."

"Seriously? This is a Swap timeline as well as a Fell one. That would make your mother _Dr._ Gaster and the other me a complete idiot for not thinking of that."

Papyrus nodded.

"What's her specialty?" Frisk asked.

"Botany."

She nodded. "Good one to have in a place like this. Lots of bio-diversity." She stood. "Let's go check on your Frisk. She should be well on her way to recovery."

Red put an arm around her, and Papyrus and I grabbed his jacket, before he took us back to Black's laboratory. A human Papyrus was changing Frisk's IV fluids while Black fussed over the petri dishes in his incubator. They both turned when we appeared.

Black's Papyrus grabbed his Frisk by shoulders and she put her hands on his chest.

"I'm all right! I didn't get involved in the fighting. I swear."

"I know." He held her steady and kissed her. A blush spread across her cheeks and she covered her face with her hands when he pulled back. He lifted her and carried her back up the stairs.

Papyrus leaned against his Frisk's bed, one hand absently petting her stomach. "So how did you get her to go from being bent on genocide to saving all monsters?"

Black closed the incubator's door and came over.

"It's a Sans..." He looked at Papyrus. "And in some cases, a Papyrus's job to protect and care for their Frisk. I had no idea what I was supposed to do for mine. She was broken in a way that I had no idea how to fix. There was nothing I could say or do that would get her to stop, even for a moment.

"And I thought, if I couldn't fix her, I would have to give her to someone who could."

Black 'sat' on the table. "I explained to her that there was no way she was going to be able to beat me without magic. I'd just kill her over and over again. So I made her an offer. I'd spare her and in exchange she had to do two things. First, she had to reset and get here without having hurt anyone. And second, as a way of apology to my brother for killing him, she had to go on a date with him and make good on it. And I was very clear that I wanted her to be so loud in bed that all of Snowdin would know what a freak she was."

The look on his face softened. "My Papy's not that kind of guy. Unlike other Papyrus-es, he'd fallen for Frisk and was heart broken by her actions. Even when she killed him, Papy still just wanted her to be happy. To be better. He'd never let her make a whore of herself. I spent her reset reminding her of the deal she made and she spent that reset going back and forth to Snowdin to see Papy.

"And, little by little, she got better. Her fake smile disappeared and a genuine one replaced it. She made real friends, helped monsters in need. And somewhere along the way, she started returning my brother's love.

"So now I have a sister in law and many nieces and nephews!" He looked at a photo on the wall over his desk of a pile of children making funny faces for the camera. "Sometimes, you have to let others help you. No one is meant to go it alone."

Red cracked a mean smile. "*so snowdin didn't get to hear her love cries?"

Black cackled. "Oh she made good on the deal. On their wedding night you could hear her over the noise at Grillbys!" He giggled. "I was so proud!"

Red looked at Papyrus. "*so, are you going to join us or what?" He gestured at Black's lab. "*you'll have access to research and materials far beyond what you can manage with the limited resources in your own timeline. and you'll have help when you need it. no one's going to expect you to not be yourself and there's no schedule or tally of contribution. we just ask that when you're uniquely suited to help us, that you do."

"What's the pay?"

"*rubbish."

He chuckled lightly, still petting Frisk while she slept. "All right."

Flowey yawned and sat up on Frisk's shoulder. "Hey everyone!" He looked around, a little confused. "What'd I miss?"

xxx

Author's Note: Black does not come from any established AU that I am aware of (and I trawl the AU site everyday). There is enough info there to make an AU, but I'm currently too lazy to do that.


	9. Ep 9 - Memory

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans (our lovely narrator) is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community creation. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

Special Disclaimers!: (1)The Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus we see in this episode are not part of an official AU but are based on the fanart of 22o22. This artist's work is phenomenal! (2) Though Underswap does not make an appearance in this series, part of the basic idea will appear here, so credit for that goes to the Underswap creator Morty.

1\. My beta has changed his mind. This is his fav episode. I, apparently, blew him right out of his seat when he read the original draft.

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence.

Ep. 9 - Memory

The water glistened under a bright sun. Frisk was in the line next to this world's Sans, waiting for the right wave to come along. I sat on a beach chair, enjoying the breeze and the warm sun while White hid under a large beach umbrella next to me. Red's nasal bone was buried in a book, occasionally looking up at his Frisk before taking a sip of mustard. His Frisk was under an umbrella with this world's monster Frisk, a cute cross between a cat and a rabbit in black fur with a flat tail. They were busy building a sandcastle in the shade. My Frisk came up on a wave.

I looked over at White. "Stop staring at my girl, White."

"Hey! Why does Red get to look when I don't?!" He pouted.

Red looked up at the water. "*wouldn't it be easier for sugar plum to do tricks if she were using a shorter surfboard?"

"That's why Red get's to look."

White huffed. "I hate you both. And I hate knowing that the bathing suit pic you have is that one." He pointed to my girl in her blue floral rashguard and shorts. "The bikini in my imagination is so much better."

"She doesn't own a bikini," I said. I turned the page of my magazine.

"And that's a damn shame!" White huffed. He suddenly smiled deviously. "Does she have any lingerie?"

I gave him my best glare.

"*stop talking like that in front of my frisk," Red growled softly.

"Fine," White muttered. He pulled the strings on his hoodie to close the front around his face, going into full sulk.

This world's Papyrus sat down next to me, cross legged in the sand, in a red knit and black slacks. He'd left his bone mask off, revealing the scars of the disease he'd only just managed to cure. And I was sure, if Red's brother had skin, this is exactly what he would look like. He rubbed his jaw while watching the surfers.

"*hey, papyrus!" Red put his book down. "*thanks for having us. the kiddo's been having a great time."

Red's Frisk sat up, purple and brown braids flopping in her face. She pushed her hair back, in that easy way teen girls did, with a smile that was increasingly like my Frisk's. "This is awesome! Thank you so much."

I was still a little off-put that she was sixteen now. Had it really been four years since she and Flowey had used the Seraph Foundation's facility as a race track for her scooter? I looked over at White. He was watching the surfers and when he looked at the kiddo it was with the same smile reserved for his little brother. The same one he bestowed on Verdana and Ravie. I wondered if that was part of the baby-bones phenomenon. Or something relational about Frisks. Did all Sans-es fit all other Frisks into the most appropriate place in their lives and vice versa?

Papyrus nodded. "You're welcome."

The monster Frisk hopped into Papyrus' arms. "Are we still going to see Red's lab?"

He smiled softly and pet her head. "Yes." He looked to Red. "My mother has asked to join us. Do you mind?"

Red shook his head. There was a sudden, happy softness to his skull. There hadn't been a Lucida in my past. The only woman who'd held my heart so firmly before Frisk had been my mother. I still had vivid dreams of her tossing me, or rather Wing Dings, in the air as a child.

My Frisk came out of the water with her board. She set it down softly before dropping to the sand next to Papyrus. "Thanks for having us."

"It's the least I could do to thank you. You did not have to take Black's deal on behalf of a stranger."

She smiled and I pretended not to see the warm glow in his eyes.

"It honestly isn't as bad as Black likes to make it out to be. His idea of a good time is to have his friends play video games on his youtube channel that make them scared, disgusted, and/or sick."

"*what'd ya end up playing?" Red asked.

"Five Nights at Freddy's."

"*and?" Red poked, smile wide.

"I told Freddy Fazbear to go F himself."

"* _you_ swore?!" Red cackled.

Frisk looked embarrassed. "A lot. As in, I felt like I needed to wash my mouth out with soap when I was done."

"*this i need to watch." Red pulled out his phone. "*has he uploaded it yet?"

"Yeah."

"So why weren't you taking his calls?" White asked.

Frisk frowned. "Because last time he had me playing SCP Containment Breach and I was so sick from the swinging camera, I completely freaked out."

"She had nightmares for almost three weeks after that one," I said. I took a sip of hot sauce. "I spent two of them in her bed so I could comfort her when she inevitably had a bad dream."

"Ooh La La!" the kiddo said. She giggled, looking at me.

I pointed at her. "Don't you start, young lady."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I cannot imagine you being that scared."

Frisk shrugged. "Everyone has their break point and apparently mine is a creepy statue." Frisk turned back to Papyrus. "So why aren't you out there?" She motioned to the waves with a nod of her head.

Papyrus sighed. "I had a spill yesterday and hit the reef. My shoulder is still sore."

"Do you want some Monster Candy?"

He shook his head. "A day on the sand won't kill me." His Frisk rubbed her head against his chest before jumping out of his lap and heading back over to the sand castle. "Do you want a hand getting your board cleaned up?"

Frisk shook her head and stood. "I'm good." She picked up her board and headed over to the trees to rinse it.

Papyrus turned back to the water, watching his brother surf, while Red giggled like a maniac to the video on his phone. Both Flowey's popped back up and climbed up on their respective Frisks, chattering away at each other. Frisk came back and sat on the sand in front of me. I leaned forward and touched the side of her neck, careful to avoid where I knew C's implants were hidden under her skin. If I moved her hair, I would see C's connector chip in the back of her neck. She reached up and laid her hand over my phalanges.

C burst to life on Frisk's shoulder. "We've got an hour until we want to be at Red's Lab."

"Hello," Papyrus said, immediately interested. "And what might you be?"

"This is C. He's my A.I." Frisk answered. "Asriel put him in my head to keep me from hurting monsters in the Underground after I fell."

"That was an issue?"

Frisk shrugged. "Being unconscious, I couldn't argue the point with him at the time. And, I do have a lot of LOVE."

Papyrus snorted, the idea amusing him immensely. He stood. "Will you and my brother be able to handle things while we're gone, White?"

White pulled his hood off. "No worries." There was blue glow to his eyes. "I doubt MC can dish out anything we can't handle."

Papyrus waved to his brother and Sans came in from the water.

"Heading off already?" He gave a false sulk behind his bone mask. "It's nice to meet new people. Come back again soon."

"Will do!" the kiddo said, giving him a hug.

He hugged her back and reached down to pet his Frisk's head. "Be good for Mom and Papy, all right? No shenanigans." He got a smile before she scampered over to Papyrus and jumped into his arms.

Papyrus put her on his shoulder. "Ready to go get mom?"

She nodded and we headed off for the house.

Lucida was putting a book away on the shelf as we came in, hand lingering on the urn containing her husband's ashes. She hadn't mentioned how long he'd been gone. She'd only looked at me very sadly when we'd met earlier, the shadow of memory hanging heavy over her.

Red offered Lucida his arm while Papyrus put a hand on his shoulder. I put my arms around my Frisk and the kiddo and landed us just outside the Lab in Red's Fell world. The kiddo ran over to the door and opened it, heading over to the elevator excitedly. We followed her.

"*hey kiddo? did you have enough water today?"

"Yes, Sans."

"*and your meds?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sans." She kissed the side of his skull. "I'm good. Promise."

"*good. here. lab's been cold recently." He shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her.

"How's the 'cyborg' me doing?" my Frisk asked.

"Really good!" the kiddo answered, pulling on Sans jacket. "He's able to reset now, so his timeline is back in order. It took a while to explain to his Sans all the strange and disturbing memories. Especially the one of having been killed by Paps. Anyway, he comes back to hang out a lot. I guess he got really comfortable with Dad and I around. I would not be surprised if he's here right now."

The elevator doors opened on level one of the original True Lab. We followed Red into the bunk area. Three beds were filled and Dr. Gaster was talking quietly with an assistant about the patients in them.

"*our guests are here, dad."

Wing Dings handed the clip board in his hand to the assistant and came over. Papyrus' looked away suddenly and his Frisk quickly rubbed her face against his. He looked at her and scratched her behind the ears to quell the sudden trembling in his hands. He took a deep breath and managed a restrained smile.

Red handled the introductions. "*this is dr. papyrus gaster. he's the medical researcher who discovered the cure and developed the vaccine to ao742. and this is his mother, dr. lucida gaster."

Dings froze the moment his eyes caught sight of Lucida. Taking a deep breath, he stepped toward her, hands behind his back. She held her hands behind her back the same way and smiled up at him. When he held out a hand, Lucida placed hers in it.

"Charmed." There was an intensity to the flicker in the Ding's red eyes that would have melted a lesser being.

Frisk whistled low and whispered to me, "I've seen that look before. Ten bucks says they end the tour in his bedroom."

"Exactly where have you seen that look before?" I asked.

"On you."

I face palmed.

Dings offered Lucida his arm and she took it. "This way." He led us along to the secondary elevator off of refrigeration and took us to the second basement level of the Lab, explaining the various expansions of the True Lab over time. As Red's Frisk had predicted, 'cyborg' Frisk, who now lacked mechanical parts, was helping several of the assistants in the medical bay. His Sans was napping in a chair outside Ding's office door. The kiddo ran over to him and the two started talking up a storm while he worked.

Lucida's first question jarred me, but not because of content. She had slipped deeply into the parts of 'Gaster speak' that made her almost incomprehensible. Dings responded with the same speech and I stopped listening to avoid the eventual headache.

Red rolled his eyes and motioned Papyrus over to continue the tour elsewhere. I looked at my Frisk and she smiled at me, stifling a laugh behind her hand. I leaned back against a wall with my hands in my pockets, Frisk next to me, watching Dings and Lucida romance each other with science.

"Shall we discuss this over a cup of tea?" Dings offered, suddenly understandable.

Lucida nodded and he led her into his apartment. As soon as the door shut, the lock clicked. There was a loud thump against the wall followed by a soft moan.

Both of the kiddos stared at the door before looking at each other.

"Your dad works fast," 'cyborg' Frisk said.

Red's Frisk nodded.

My Frisk stared at the door, surprised. "You should have taken the bet. They didn't even make it to the bedroom."

"*i'm not sure how comfortable i am with this," Red sighed.

"They were always like that," Papyrus muttered.

"*Must be where I get it from," they both said. They looked at each other and snickered.

Monster Frisk jumped down from Papyrus' shoulders to Red's, and then to the floor, heading over to the other Frisks.

My phone buzzed and I gave it a quick look. It was a set of equations from Blue. I frowned. I'd never received a mission this way. Maybe he was busy? Or just being lazy. Probably lazy. Red and Papyrus came over.

"*heading out?"

"Looks like it," I said. "Just weird that Blue sent a text with equations and didn't call."

My Frisk hopped into Ding's office to change into her uniform. The kiddo came over and stole my phone to look at the text. She frowned.

"Woah there!"

She smiled at me and handed back the phone. Then frowned again, deep in thought.

My Frisk came back out, ready to go. I put an arm around her and started solving the equations.

"No! Wait!" The kiddo grabbed my arm and Papyrus quickly grabbed her.

We landed on a barren world, the wind rushing around us. Frisk pulled the kiddo in close to shield her. I looked around and spotted an old, abandoned house that was withstanding the wind. I motioned for everyone to follow and we hid inside.

Once sheltered, I loomed over Red's Frisk. "That was incredibly dangerous! What were you thinking?"

She was not the least bit intimidated and grabbed my jacket to pull my face down to hers. "The equations are wrong! They didn't just move us through the void. They moved us through time." She suddenly looked angry, a red glow edging her brown eyes. "How did you not notice that?"

"Calm down, Frisk!" Flowey wrapped multiple vines around her chest, trapping her arms.

She sighed, hands dropping. "I'm fine. The question stands." She looked away. "You're smarter than me, right? Why the screw up?"

I huffed. "Smarter than you? I read your last paper, sweetheart." I sighed. "We've moved through time before to get places. Missions often depend on when we arrive more than where." I put a hand on her head. "Still, this is really suspicious."

My Frisk held out her hand. "Give me your phone."

I handed it to her. She popped open the text and opened the numerical information. She frowned and handed it back.

"It's a spoof. That's not Blue's number." A slow annoyance came to her face. "But I do recognize that number."

My eye sockets narrowed. "It's _his,_ isn't it?"

Frisk nodded.

"Who are you talking about?" Papyrus asked.

"A male version of my Frisk who is with Midnight Collapse." I looked to the window. "I wonder what his game is?"

"I'll call Fase to get us out of here," Frisk pulled out her phone. "Or I won't." She looked at her phone. "Last time I got this error was in Sheriff Sans' world."

The rest of us checked our phones. Nothing.

"We'll need to make the proper equations ourselves." I looked at the kiddo. "Wanna help me reverse engineer this one?"

She nodded and pulled a marker out of her pocket.

My Frisk looked out the window again. "At least we know that by not coming back immediately, Red will call Fase and get the ball rolling on finding us. C? Are you getting any signal here?"

C burst life on her shoulder. "Nothing. This whole place dead. There's wiring in the house, but it's rotted out."

Papyrus joined her at the window. "What should we expect?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Not sure. This is very different from anything MC has tried before and the first time that the other me has gotten directly involved. He usually just shows up to observe or talk." She stepped away from the window. "It might be a test to see if we can get back. Might be something else. I'm going to check the rest of the house."

"I'll join you."

My Frisk nodded. They headed into the next room. The kiddo wrote on the wall next to me, working through several possibilities.

"You okay with them being alone?" Frisk asked as she worked.

"Nothing escapes you, huh? It's fine. Your Papyrus gives her the same look, especially when they're training together. It comes off as sexual, but it's not. It's the recognition of a kindred spirit. Someone who understands what it's like to see a world bathed in blood. It's why he rubs his jaw when he looks at her. Just like your brother will touch the cracks around his eye socket. They know her scars are there too, even if they can't see them."

Frisk's hand flew across the wall, the math flowing from her like water. "My brother would still put her against a wall if she'd let him."

"That's because in your universe, sex among monsters is an expression of loyalty more than one of love."

"Then what makes White different?"

I smiled. "White is so used to being by himself that he's uncomfortable with the idea of having a romantic relationship. Pretending that he has a thing for Frisk is his way of dealing with it. He knows she won't ever respond and neither will she abandon him as a friend."

"I meant why do you rag on White so hard if you know it's not serious?"

I stopped for a moment and then continued the calculations. "I'm a monster and my Frisk is human. We'd been introduced to White long before I was sure of my own feelings let alone hers. White isn't exactly bad looking."

"So it's straight up jealousy. Okay."

I rolled my eye.

She smiled at me. "Thanks for not being embarrassed by my questions."

"Hey, I'm not gonna leave ya hanging."

Her smile turned devious as she reached over to my work and changed a set of numbers. "So have you two done the do yet?"

"Frisk!" Flowey yelled.

I snorted. "Too personal and you're sixteen."

She giggled. "Ask Frisk instead. Got it."

I smiled and we switched places, working through each other's math. "Oh, that's right. Ask the person who's makes me look like an open book. You'll totally get a straight answer there."

"I don't get it. I've met three other versions of you. One was a nuclear physicist and a total man whore. One was a part time druggie and a full time musician. And G is the sweetest man in the entire multi-verse. I can call him anytime and he's always happy to chat, even when his essence bleed is really bad. And all of you have completely different stories when it comes to how you became a fusion of Gaster and Sans. But for all your differences, you're all super private. Is that the common thread?"

"For my variation, yes. Just like every variation of Red is trying to fill a void in their very being. There's always a common thread."

"So which one of you is the first?"

"Not sure. I know it isn't me. There's one you haven't met yet because his world is a glitched out mess. His little Frisk has this box full of bandages to fix all the glitches. I'm pretty sure he's the first," I answered.

"Why?"

"He drinks ketchup."

Frisk and Papyrus came back in the room.

"Well, we know where we are at least," my Frisk said. "He left us a map." She held up a map of St. Canard. There was a circle with the words 'You Are Here.'

"This is where the train depot is located," I said. "The whole area looks like farm land outside."

Frisk pointed at me. "You're right." She pointed to the date on the map. "2017," she said. She put the map down and held up a calendar. "2253. And who knows how many years after this calendar went defunct. Any progress on the equations?"

"Slowly," the kiddo said. "This would actually be easier if we could portal directly to the prime world. But Blue keeps the place completely locked down." She sat down, and stared up at the math.

"Do you need a nap, sweetheart?" I asked.

"Not yet." She rubbed her face with the palms of her hands. "Soon though."

The house suddenly shook.

"What was that?" Red's Frisk asked.

Papyrus looked out of the window. "That."

I looked and saw a massive bone foot just outside the window. There was another shake as it moved away. We ran to the windows to look out at a massive bone dragon walking by. It's tail swung out and struck the house. I quickly put my arms around both of the girls and hooked a finger in Papyrus' shirt, short cutting us to outside the house. The dragon stopped and turned, looking at us.

"It felt my short cut," I breathed.

It's tail whipped at us. Papyrus grabbed the kiddo while I got a better grip on my girl and we both cut backwards out of the way of the swinging tail.

It roared and a volley of bones came at us.

The kiddo threw out both hands, left eye glowing. A line of bones rose out of the ground, making a barrier. The volley broke against it. The dragon rushed the barrier and Frisk dropped it completely, letting the dragon crash through and fall in a roll.

It roared again, scrambling to it's feet, tail lashing at us. My Frisk dashed out of my arms, dodging under the tail. She got up to the back hip bones and climbed up on it. It thrashed underneath her, and I readied to catch her if she was thrown. She held on and the dragon stopped thrashing long enough to stand properly. Frisk took advantage of the moment and climbed up to it's shoulders. The head turned toward on its long neck, snapping at her with sharp teeth. She dodged the first two strikes only to get caught by the third. She shrieked as teeth sank into her arm and shoulder.

The reaction surprised the dragon and it let go. Papyrus and I summoned bone strikes directly underneath the dragon, trapping it in place and keeping it from moving it's neck and head.

Frisk looked up at the dragon's skull, left arm hanging useless at her side. She patted the snout with her right hand. "It's okay, Sans. We aren't here to hurt you."

A set of white eyes appeared in the sockets and the head cocked to the side. An ethereal hissing slid from the dragon's jaws. "*frisssssssk...?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm a Frisk."

Deep anguish overcame the dragon Sans and it wailed.

Frisk huddled against his neck, unable to cover her ears properly. She lost her balance and fell. I short cut and caught her. She gritted her teeth and buried her face against my shoulder to keep from screaming. I knelt down and gently set her next to me. Digging around in her pockets, I found a cinnamon bunny. I unwrapped it and she shoved it in her mouth, eating it in three bites. Her arm and shoulder knit back together.

Red's Frisk dispelled the bones holding the dragon in place. It laid down, eyes watching us sadly. She hugged its massive skull, gently petting the nasal bone.

"You're not supposed to be like this, are you?"

Dragon Sans groaned miserably.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"*gone. alone."

She hugged him tightly, head resting near his left eye.

"Uh, Frisk?" Flowey poked her. "Oh great. She fell asleep."

Papyrus laughed and Flowey huffed at him.

"Oh please. That's funny." He lifted her up and moved her onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, murmuring lightly.

My Frisk stood and rolled her left shoulder. She knelt next to Dragon Sans' skull.

"*sorry. so sorry."

"It's okay." She patted his boney snout. "But you're not completely alone. Someone has been here. That's why you attacked us."

"*yes." The dragon's eyes flickered, like it was having trouble speaking. "*sorry. so sorry."

"Still okay." She petted the nasal bone. "Are there any other buildings left anywhere? Any parts of St. Canard still intact?"

Dragon Sans stood and looked off toward where the Seraph Facility would have been in our world. "*that way." He started walking slowly in that direction and we followed.

Frisk looked to Papyrus. "Are you okay with carrying Frisk?"

He nodded. "She's sixteen, right? She's under weight and under height for her age if you are any comparison. What's her medical condition?"

"Childhood malnutrition," Flowey said. He looked sad. "She was running away from home when she fell on Mt. Ebott. Her continued health has been a long work in progress for Sans. Well, Red. Dr. Gaster replaced her heart when she was ten with one he cloned. It took them a long time to get to that point because she kept dying in her sleep and resetting the work. Once her heart was in working order, it was a matter of making sure she had the right combination of food, vitamins, and medication. She still tires out fast, and needs a midday nap, but she'll get to have a mostly normal life." He smiled. "Every day is a little better than the last."

"How did Red solve the problem of her dying in her sleep? If it was a constant thing, it means the only thing bringing her back was her determination."

"Black gets the credit for that one," Frisk said. "He happened to read an article about infants with heart problems having better outcomes when they slept with their mothers or other family members. He thought it might work for her and had his Frisk make a small pillow with a noisemaker that sounded like a heart beat. Red would put the pillow in his rib cage and Frisk stopped dying in the middle of the night."

"We'll have to get her back home soon. She can miss her evening medication, but she'll need more than the food we have on us we end up being here for more than a day," I said.

Papyrus nodded and adjusted her on his back.

"...make you tea when we get home..." the kiddo murmured in her sleep, "promise..."

Papyrus chuckled softly.

Dragon Sans stopped at the crest of a hill. At the bottom was a large building. And though the grounds around it were in shambles, there was no mistaking what we were looking at. It was a perfect copy of the Seraph Foundation.

"We are on a different world right? We aren't home, just several hundred years on?" Frisk asked.

"We are on a different world."

Her eyes blazed with determination. "Well then. Let's see if this is where the other me comes from."

When we got to the entrance, Dragon Sans laid down. Papyrus laid the kiddo down against the dragon's massive forearm. She cuddled up against the bone and the tail came up to hold her.

Frisk patted his snout. "We'll just be inside."

"*so sorry."

She smiled at him patiently. "Will you be all right out here with her?"

"*yes."

"I'll come get you guys if we need help," Flowey said.

We walked inside the building.

"Where do we go first?" I asked. "Your office?"

She shook her head. "My apartment."

The building was little more than dusty. A good indication that someone had been using it frequently enough to keep in in good repair. We crept quietly through the halls and up the stairs to the top floor and the living quarters. The door to what would have been Frisk's apartment was ajar. Frisk pulled her gun before gently pushing the door open. She stepped in, swept the interior, and put up her gun. The living area was empty.

Where my girl's apartment was a warm cloud of feminine comforts, this apartment was a warm cabin deep in the woods. Frisk went over to his desk and searched the drawers while Papyrus and I checked the other rooms. On the nightstand was a sketchbook very similar to the one my girl kept. She never let me have a look at it. Curiosity getting the better of me, I picked it up and had a look.

The book was split into two sections. Nothing inside was dated. The front half of the book were drawings of other timelines: a Sans like Red weeping at a grave covered in flowers; a child Frisk with black holes for eyes leading various monsters away from devastated timelines; a Sans in a lab coat desperate to regain lost memories; a nightmarish Sans chasing down a terrified child Frisk. The back half was filled with drawings that were suggestive at best. I closed the book and took it with me into the living room.

Frisk had a huge file open on the desk, photographs and papers spread out. Papyrus leaned over her shoulder, watching her work.

"Did you find something?" I asked.

"Oh boy, did I find something." She held up several pictures. "These were taken before Blue recruited us and Asriel was setting up the Foundation." She handed them to me. "This photograph is clearly from when I first met Red. This one is from the day I bought you the Chevelle. It's even taken from the interior of the barn. He's been stalking me for a long time. These are even copies of my service paperwork, including quite a few that are classified."

"But why? If he's with Midnight Collapse, why not kill you? Why stalk you?" Papyrus asked.

"That's a good question." I looked at Frisk. "Do you have your sketchbook on you?"

She looked at me, annoyed. "What have I said repeatedly about-"

I held up the other sketchbook. "I want to compare."

Trapped, I could almost see her mind desperately seeking any excuse not to hand over the book.

"Just show him already," C said.

She sighed and pulled out her sketchbook. Laying the two side by side, I flipped the pages in unison. The drawing styles were a match, which wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was the marked difference in the content. Instead of Sans weeping at a grave, he was sitting with a Frisk covered in flowers. Instead of a eyeless, child Frisk leading various monsters, the monsters were living together in a happy place away from destruction. Instead of a Sans desperate to regain lost memories, he appeared to be talking happily with Alphys about some project. Instead of nightmarish Sans chasing down a terrified Frisk, the nightmarish Sans was carrying the boy on his shoulder through the underground.

"These are dreams you have, aren't they?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Then he's having the same ones, but look at the differences. Each of these are a kind of nightmare in his book, but a peaceful dream in yours."

"He appears to be broken," Papyrus said. "And is obsessed with a version of himself that he sees as whole or at least fixed." He reached down and flipped both sketchbooks to the back pages.

Frisk blushed deeply and immediately shut her journal. "Not sharing that part." She crammed it back in her bag. "You're playing the piano for me when we get home." She stood and put the file back together. She shoved it and the other sketchbook in her bag. "We need to move. I don't want to leave Frisk alone for too long and I want to check the office."

Moving toward the door, she stopped. "Papyrus? Would you mind raiding the kitchen? Bones, go check on Frisk and Dragon Sans. I'll head to the office. After five minutes, we'll all meet at the bottom of the stairs."

Papyrus and I nodded. I short cut to outside the facility. Red's Frisk had already woken up and was talking to Dragon Sans as she continued to work on the equations, writing on her arm with a pen. She held up her arm when she saw me.

"I can get us home!"

I came over and looked at the equations. "That'll do it."

She smiled.

"And you solved for bringing your new friend along as well, huh?"

"Of course." She pulled out her phone and took a picture of her arm before pulling out a roll of clear tape and wrapping it around her arm to keep the ink from smudging. She pulled her sleeve back down and smiled at me. She patted Dragon Sans on the nasal bone. "We'll be right back. We won't leave you here alone, okay."

The eye in the left socket turned blue and a long tongue came out, the very tip flicking against her cheek.

"Oh!" She hugged his skull and kissed the top of one eye socket.

"Come on. Frisk wants us to meet at the stairs."

She nodded and headed in with me.

"Hey, Flowey? Can you hide in Sans' jacket? I want to keep you secret if we run into trouble," she said.

"Sure thing!" The flower monster disappeared down the back of the jacket.

We met Papyrus at the stairs. Frisk wasn't there yet.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked.

The kiddo nodded. "Yeah. Let's find Frisk."

"Which way to the office?"

"This way," I said. I led them down the hall. I saw Frisk crouched against the wall next to the door to the lab.

Frisk saw us and motioned for us to stop and stay quiet. I couldn't hear what she was listening too, but hoped that it was loud enough for C to record. After a few minutes of tense silence, she moved to the door and looked inside. She stood and motioned us over. "Looks like they teleported away."

"How many and any idea who?" I asked.

"Two people. By voice, the male version of me and a Papyrus with the same voice your brother has."

"The Sans from this world doesn't have a cracked skull," I said.

"He was experimented on to make him into a dragon. He may have had the cracks at some point only to have them fuse together," the kiddo said. "He wouldn't say who experimented on him. But I'll put money on his Papyrus."

"Have you checked the office yet?" I asked.

Frisk shook her head. "I didn't want to tip them off so I waited it out. I couldn't hear what they were saying though. Come on."

We went into the office and Frisk started raiding the drawers of the desk.

"Jackpot!" She pulled out a set of files. "He organizes just like I do. Service records. Medical records. Everything." She popped open the service file first. "Listed for the same project. I figured that much, but, oh that's bad." She put her finger on a line in the file and opened the medical record. She flipped through several pages of the medical record matching the dates.

"Failed implantation of an A.I. unit. This happened before falling on Mt. Ebott. This is a major departure from our world's technology. It looks like all members of this world's Project Viper received A.I. unit implants. He was still cleared for this timeline's version of the project despite the original A.I. unit failure. The record shows that he was trusted enough for certain missions, but was not given the ones he preferred."

Her fingers traced both records, eyes going back and forth. "Here's his last mission. He was put on a deep cover assignment in a small village. His mission was to wait for the arrival of terrorist leader and assassinate him. After mission completion he was given a Midnight Collapse order." She sat back. "Oh God."

"What does that mean?" the kiddo asked.

"Midnight Collapse is a defunct code used by my military unit several decades ago. It's an order to kill everyone with whom you have had contact with during a mission and withdraw."

"Have you ever done that?" Papyrus asked.

"No. No one in my unit has. It's a failed command. It breaks the people who are ordered to do it. It was a project history lesson in my timeline. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know what it was." She took a deep breath. "Okay. So what we have here is a male version of me who was messed up in some way by a failed A.I. implantation and was able to either hide it or was cleared in spite of it. After a frustrating career, he's put on an assassination assignment and carried out a Midnight Collapse order from command."

She went back to the record. "He's discharged with a short debriefing and no treatment for obvious PTSD symptoms. There's a blank spot in the medical record here. That's likely the point when he fell on Mt. Ebott. The medical record picks up again with notations by Alphys. Her notes say that he's been implanted with an A.I., but she doesn't know by whom and that no one was in the Ruins after the barrier opened."

She turned the file to me, pointing to the writing. "That's your Gaster speak. What does it say?"

I lifted the paper. "Multiple resets. Frisk is worse with each one. Do not trust A.I." I handed back the paper. "Pack this all up and bring it with us. Frisk has figured out the equations to get us back."

Frisk put the files in her bag and we left the office.

"I'm not leaving without Dragon Sans," the kiddo said.

I smiled at her. "We won't."

"I WOULD RATHER THAT YOU DID NOT TAKE MY BROTHER ANYWHERE."

The kiddo immediately short cut down the hall, avoiding being grabbed and leaving a skeletal Papyrus like my brother open to attack. I sent a bone strike and he turned it blue in mid air, letting it pass through him. Frisk pulled her gun and was grabbed from behind the male version of herself. He slammed her to the floor, pinning her, and put a gun to her head.

"Give yourselves up. These rounds are live."

Papyrus and I put our hands up.

The male Frisk looked down the empty hallway. "I wasn't aware you had a Frisk on your team who could teleport. That's an especially rare ability. We'll find her later." He lifted Frisk from the floor and pulled her into the lab. "Come along."

Once inside the lab, my Frisk was shoved forward and the skeletal Papyrus summoned bone cages around us.

"Sit tight while we find your fourth."

"I WILL STAY WITH OUR CAPTIVES."

The male Frisk nodded and left the lab, his Papyrus watching him. After several minutes of silence, he grabbed a hold of the bones making up the cage around Frisk.

"I NEED YOUR HELP. YOU MUST FIX HIM. THE OTHERS COULDN'T. YOU MUST."

"Others? How many versions of me have you gone through?"

His eye sockets closed, tears threatening to spill as he shook. "YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE."

She looked at me for a moment and then placed her hands over his. "I need to know what's going on. Why is he trying to destroy all timelines?"

"HE ISN'T. THAT IS MERELY A DISTRACTION. HE WANTS TO COLLAPSE THE PRIME UNIVERSE."

"Why?"

"BECAUSE HIS RESET CANNOT ERASE HIS MEMORY. AND HE SO DEARLY WANTS NOT TO REMEMBER. HE BELIEVES THAT IF HE CAN COLLAPSE THE PRIME WORLD IT WILL GIVE HIM A RESET THAT WILL DESTROY HIS MEMORIES. TAKE HIM BACK TO ZERO."

"That won't work!" I said. "Collapsing the Prime universe will destroy all timelines! Who convinced him that such a thing was even possible?"

"HIS A.I."

"Papyrus? Why are you helping him?" Frisk asked.

"BECAUSE I MUST. I CANNOT ABANDON HIM." His head fell against the bones. "I SENT YOU THE EQUATIONS THAT WOULD BRING YOU HERE SO YOU COULD LEARN WHAT YOU NEEDED TO KNOW. I WILL FREE YOU. PLEASE FIND THE CHILD AND LEAVE."

"We are not leaving without your brother."

He sighed deeply. "IF LOSING HIM IS A PRICE I MUST PAY FOR MY FAILURES, AT LEAST I KNOW YOU WILL CARE FOR HIM WELL." The bone cages dropped. "HURRY." He teleported away.

"Where would Frisk have gone?" Papyrus asked.

"She's a genius, but she's also Red's little sister. I bet she's in here with us."

The door to the cabinet next to my feet slid open and the kiddo climbed out. "Of course I am!"

"Let's grab the dragon and go."

Papyrus shook his head. "This Frisk is leading Midnight Collapse. We should take the opportunity to capture him. Remove the head from the snake."

I pointed to Red's Frisk. "Her safety comes first. I won't risk it."

Papyrus looked at my Frisk. "Do you agree with him?"

"She comes first." Frisk put her hand on Papyrus' arm. "Another chance will come. And when it does, we'll be ready. Promise."

He sighed. "Lead on."

"Let's short cut out to Dragon Sans and go home."

Papyrus picked up the kiddo and she leaned in, planting a peck on his cheek.

"I'm sorry I'm a burden."

"You are the opposite of a burden, child." He short cut away.

I put an arm around Frisk and we short cut out to the front. I smacked against a barrier of bones. The kiddo and Papyrus were holding a barrier against Dragon Sans. He was rampaging, attempting to kill his Frisk. A bone strike came up underneath him, trapping him in one place.

"I AM SORRY, MY BROTHER. BUT I CANNOT LET YOU HURT OUR FRISK."

The dragon roared.

My Frisk rounded the barrier coming up behind the male Frisk and slamming into him hard enough to send him flying. She pulled her gun and fired, trapping him in foam core. A line of tentacles shot from his Papyrus, breaking the foam away. The male Frisk stood, brushing himself off. A red hologram burst to life on his shoulder, laughing at him.

"You didn't even see her coming!" the A.I. laughed.

He growled. "That is not a joke for you to enjoy!" He readied to go on the attack. "I'll want a good explanation as to why they're free Papyrus."

The skeleton said nothing.

"Make yourself useful and keep the other three busy. I need to have a word with myself." He rushed Frisk and she slid to the side, letting him move by her, and tripping him. He rolled forward and up to his feet. Quick as a snake, he grabbed her gun from her hand and aimed at her. Frisk pushed his hand aside and away from us. She grabbed his wrist, turned, and pulled him into her back while disarming him. She let go of him and rounded, pointing the gun at his head.

His Papyrus put up a barrier between us and the two Frisks.

The male Frisk stepped up to the barrel. "At this range, a foam core ball to the head would kill me." He stood there, waiting for her to move.

She dropped her arm.

He grabbed her, holding her tightly against his chest, and injected a green liquid from a syringe hidden in his jacket in her neck near C's implants. "This won't kill you, but it will incapacitate you long enough to keep you from being a nuisance while I deal with your Sans."

Frisk's eyes closed, head falling to his shoulder, and she went limp in his arms.

Her eyes opened, glowing a bright, blood red. Chara pulled the knife hidden in Frisk's boot and shoved it in his stomach, pushing it upwards. He shoved Chara away, pulling the knife from his gut.

"Impossible. The injection should have disabled you."

Chara pulled out another knife, tossing it lightly. "Oh I'm sure it would have." That red gaze turned on the male Frisk. "If I was just an A.I." Chara smiled and rushed him. He dodged to the left, slashing at Chara's midsection, the knife glancing off the armor under the uniform.

Chara's knife came up and caught him under the arm, slicing upward. The male Frisk grabbed his arm. Chara stepped back and pulled a smelling salt from Frisk's pocket.

"The stuff you gave her was potent, but easily isolated. She'll sweat it out before the fight's even over." Chara broke open the smelling salt and ran it under their shared nose. Frisk coughed, waking up. Her right eye turned blue. "Tell me when you're ready to have your body back."

I cut the magic holding a barrier between us. The kiddo sent a fire magic strike directly for his Papyrus.

"Now," Frisk said. Her left eye turned blue and she brought both hands down on the male Frisk's injured arm. His Papyrus short cut to behind him, avoiding the fire volley. Putting an arm around his Frisk, he short cut them back.

"WE ARE LEAVING. NOW."

The male Frisk looked at mine. "It looks like that word with you will have to wait."

"Why are you doing this? Why?" Frisk yelled.

There was a pained look to his face. "I can't erase the memory of what I've done. I'd hoped that, by spending time with you, I would have learned the secret to living with that knowledge. But you and I are not exactly alike. You are missing key pieces of my narrative. There is no Midnight Collapse. So, if I can't erase my memory, I will erase all else instead." He turned and walked away.

"COWARD!" she screamed. "COWARD!"

He stopped and took a deep breath, eyes closed. He let it out slowly and his Papyrus teleported them away.

Frisk hung her head and wept. "You coward."

xxx

Author's Note:

I mentioned a couple official AU's and one sub-AU with the sketchbook. While the characters from those AUs will not make an appearance, here are there official mentions in order of appearance. With the exception of the first, you can check them out on the AU Masterlist.

FlowerFell - FlowerFell is a sub AU of Underfell. If you ever want to die from the feels, head over to AO3 and look up the story 'Overgrowth' by SociopathicArchangel.

Core!Frisk

Othertale

Terrortale


	10. Ep 10 - Obsession

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans (our lovely narrator) is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community creation. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

Special Disclaimer: (1) When building Dragon Sans, I had Roman Kun's G!Sans in mind. Look up roman-kun on tumblr and give the blog some love! (2) The Chara who appears here has no relation to the Boss Chara AU by Whirlibirb/Drakinator, but is close enough that it's getting a credit.

1\. All right Ladies and Gents: There are only two episodes left after this. The end is near!

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence.

3\. I saw a review (from Sappstar) and received a few PM's asking for Army!Frisk to narrate an episode and she is the narrator for episode 11, but that's the only thing I'll say about it. No spoilers!

Ep. 10 - Obsession

Frisk slammed her 'evil' twin into the ground, rolling to her feet over his shoulders. He grabbed her ankle and pulled, but the angle was wrong and she kicked his hand hard enough I heard the bones crunch. He kipped up, and ducked under my girl's swing, landing a hard punch to her sternum with his unbroken hand. She stepped back and he pressed the attack, cracking hard at the armor under her uniform.

His Papyrus was doing the least he possibly could in the fight, which meant keeping me out of it as best he could. While my Paps was very effective on the battlefield, this one was overly taxed keeping up with my magic. Every volley I threw, he blocked, and when I made for the Frisks he would block me physically, taking my hits rather than let me by.

I could see it in my girl's eyes. Frisk was viciously tired from little sleep and her counterpart was attempting to take advantage of it. Attempting being the primary word. He looked just as tired as she did. She punched upward, making contact with his chin, and he brought an arm up to block her elbow from coming down on his mouth. He pulled a knife with his broken hand and she ducked his swing. Frisk grabbed his arm, locked the joint, and pulled the knife from his hand.

A hologram Chara was sitting on his shoulder, pretending to eat popcorn. "Oh man, are you doing terrible today!"

He ducked a swipe of the knife. "Yeah. Thanks for the help, Chara."

It's voice was disgustingly sweet. "Perfectly symmetrical violence never got us anywhere!"

He dodged a kick. "Either help or shut up!" He grabbed Frisk's arm with his good hand, and pulled her off balance enough to lift her and slam her into the ground. She grabbed hold of his arm, brought a leg up to his stomach and threw him over her head into a near wall with a hard smack.

His Papyrus gasped and ran to him. Before either of us could stop them, they teleported away.

Frisk got to her feet. "I am getting real tired of these missions that are little more than kidnapping attempts on his part. He's so bad at them!"

I stopped and looked at her. "Why does that bother you?"

She immediately clammed up and looked away. "Can we go home now? Please?"

I sighed and put an arm around her waist. We landed outside the equipment room. After stowing her gear, she moved to change and stopped.

"I need a shower." She rubbed her eyes and groaned when she saw the eye shadow on her hands. "Today was a complete waste of makeup."

I smiled and put an arm around her. "Come on. I know a short cut to your apartment." I put us in her living room and she stripped as she walked to the bathroom. After the bathroom door closed, I waited until I heard the shower turn on before I turned away. I noticed Blue sitting on the couch. I leaned over the couch, arms resting on the back, and watched Blue compare the two sketchbooks.

"She is going to kill you."

"*nah, she won't."

"Then she'll definitely kill me."

"*based on some of the drawings in the back of this one, i sincerely doubt that."

I looked at him for a long moment. "Hand that one here."

"*if i did that, she might actually kill us." He smiled and winked his left eye at me. "*how'd the mission go?"

"It was another failed kidnapping attempt."

Blue frowned. "*find anything in the files yet?"

"A lot of stuff. Frisk's been staring at them for hours on end for months now. I'm not sure what she's looking for."

"*the key to fixing him." He closed the sketchbooks. "*let's pretend that your frisk is the one we need to stop. what's the first thing you would do?"

"Pull the A.I." I blinked and checked the time on my phone. Two in the morning. "I need to go see if the goat prince is still in the lab. Later, Blue."

He smiled at me and disappeared. I short cut over to the lab. Asriel was still there, staring into a microscope. Like me, he slept a scant four hours a night, six if he was really tired.

"Hey, Az. Got a minute?"

He looked up. "Sure."

I leaned back against the cabinet next to him, hands in my pockets. "If I were to remove Frisk's A.I., how would I do it?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I take it you mean to remove the other Frisk's A.I., right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, assuming that the A.I. is just an A.I. and not a soul, pulling the connecting chip will do it in a pinch, but the system shock would be incredible. He might die and then he'd just reset and we'd be back in the same position. If you could sedate him first, you could pull the A.I. with less worry."

I thought about that for a minute and put my hands behind my head. "So how long have you known that C was actually Chara?"

"Since Midnight Collapse attacked us directly two years ago."

"That's a big piece of information to keep under your horns."

He sighed and his head fell back, looking at the ceiling. "I didn't want Frisk to ask me to remove the implants."

I shifted a bit. "Did she?"

"No. She said that the implants gave Chara a technological advantage and she wanted him to have every advantage he could. She's spent every scheduled training session since working with Chara having different levels of control over her body. Since he can access her muscle memory, he's pretty good when he's in full control. A good thing since we've seen quite a bit more of the other Frisk."

I nodded. "For someone who is convinced that they aren't the same, he's been trying his damnedest to kidnap her. Today makes attempt number seven."

He leaned back a bit in the chair, looking out into the hall. "I think our new Papyrus is right. This Frisk is obsessed with his counterpart. I wonder if he felt this way about the other versions of himself that he's killed. Speaking of obsession, she's still up, huh?"

"What?" I looked over. Her office light was on and I could see her rummaging through the files. "God dammit! She needs to go to sleep!" I stood. "If you'll pardon me, I need to tie your royal sister to her bed."

Asriel rolled his eyes. "I really don't need to know that about the two of you."

"Woah! Wait! We aren't like that!"

The goat prince laughed, wiping a tear from one eye. "The look on you face right now is the best! I wish I had a camera!" He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone. "Oh wait! I do!" He snapped a picture. He looked at it appreciatively. "Oh yeah. That's a keeper."

I huffed and went into Frisk's office. Before she had a chance to say anything I turned her soul blue and lifted her away from her desk.

"Hey!"

" _Bedtime,_ Sweetheart _._ " I short cut us back to her bedroom and pulled off her shoes.

"Put me down!"

I unbuckled her pants and pulled them off, grabbing her socks along the way. She strained against my magic as I unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off of her.

"Bones!"

"You have not been sleeping. You're going to bed. Now." I pulled the covers back and put her in, holding her down with magic. I went over to the window and opened it. "Hey Sans!"

Dragon Sans lifted his head and looked at me. "*yesss?"

"Give me your tail."

His long tail came up and I laid it on top of Frisk. She huffed under the weight.

I went back to the window. "Don't let her up until after sunrise."

"*got it."

"Thank you." I rummaged through Frisk's clothing and pulled out her phone. "I'm keeping this for the night." I went over to the bed, and she watched me, eyes heavy lidded.

"Let me up."

"Nope." I sat down on the edge of the bed near her head. "It's a Sans-es job to take care of their Frisk, right? Well, right now, my Frisk is a mess. You need to sleep. I'm going to wait here until you're out and then I'm going to camp out on your couch to make sure you don't leave again. Provided you manage to get past a dragon. And I know you're too tired to do that. Get some sleep."

She closed her eyes, arms wrapping around Sans' tail. "Breakfast."

I ran a boney finger along her ear, pushing her hair back. "Yes, I'll make you breakfast."

Her head turned to the side. "Crepes."

My finger ran along her cheek and down her neck. "I'll make you crepes."

I ran the tips of my phalanges back and forth along her clavicle. It wasn't long before her breathing evened out. I let go of the blue magic and she pulled her right leg up, relaxed. I went into the living room, kicked off my shoes, and laid down on the couch. Unlocking Frisk's phone, I stopped for moment to look at the wallpaper: a photo of me playing guitar. I turned off her alarm and set the phone down on the coffee table next to her sketchbook.

I pulled out the photo I kept hidden in the interior pocket of my jacket, the glow from my eye illuminating it. Everyday, my girl looked a little more like the one in the photo. I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, sunlight was streaming through the window over Frisk's sewing desk.

"Let me up, Sans! I really need to pee!"

I chuckled and put the photo back in my hidden pocket. I wandered into Frisk's kitchen to start breakfast.

"You'll need to give me a lift down."

I looked out the window over the sink. Dragon Sans floated Frisk down from the third floor on a wave of blue magic. She'd pulled on a long nightgown and the long lacy cardigan she wore as a robe. When her feet touched the ground, she put a hand on his snout and one underneath his jaw bone, rubbing his skull. The years of isolation had left him needy for any and all physical and mental contact. He let the kids of the Foundation staff play on him and he'd stick his head in any window to listen to whatever conversation was happening inside just to hear voices again.

I popped the bacon into the oven and prepped the fruit and veggies.

Asriel came into Frisk's kitchen, snout first. "What is that amazing smell?"

"Breakfast. Will you grab the oven mitt and pull the bacon out for me?"

"Sure." He pulled out the bacon and set it on the counter. "Where's Frisk?"

I nodded to the window and the goat prince looked outside. He smiled and started working around me in the easy way we'd become accustom to over the years when Frisk needed to be cared for. Asriel handed me a cup of coffee as I finished the last crepe.

I looked out the window as I took a sip. Frisk was still petting Dragon Sans. In the early morning light, they looked like a scene so popular among fantasy artists: a princess and a dragon.

"Breakfast is ready, Beautiful."

She gave Dragon Sans one last hug, and waited for me to turn her blue. I lifted her back up to the apartment and took her hand to help her in the window.

"Good Morning," she said

Asriel leaned into her, looking at her face. "You have dark circles under your eyes."

"I love you too, Asriel."

He steered her into a chair before sitting himself. "You need to stop. You can't help anyone if you're this much of a wreck."

Dragon Sans head poked through the window, resting on the counter. "*agreed."

"You're off training for this morning." His ability to command slipped into his voice.

"Asriel-"

"No arguments." He loaded his crepe with vegetables and bacon.

She filled her crepe with fruit and whipped cream. "You can't just change up the schedule so easily," she muttered.

C burst to life on her shoulder. "Who has two thumbs and control over the facility's scheduling system? THIS GUY!" He frowned at her. "I took you off the schedule yesterday. The only way you're getting back on is if, by some miracle, King Chara shows up and asks you for a few rounds on the training floor."

"*king... chara?"

I turned to Dragon Sans. "A Chara that has, through an unusual set of circumstances, outlived the rest of the Dreemurr family and now sits on the throne in his timeline. His Frisk is a little younger than mine and his Sans is one of our variation."

"And he's still a jerk," C said.

"Takes one to know one," Frisk said between bites.

C stuck his tongue out at her.

"Speaking of his Frisk," I said, "We should call and see if she'll come and have a look at you."

Dragon Sans lifted his head, interested. "*why?"

"She's a mage. A top notch one too. In their timeline, the barrier need to be opened by building the correct spell and she managed it."

I pulled out my phone and dialed G, the nicest Sans of the Gaster!Sans, as Red's Frisk had started calling us.

He picked up on the first ring. "*hello?"

"Hey G. Can we borrow your Frisk? We've got a transformed Sans and she might be able to get him back to normal."

"*oh! uh. let me see if she's busy."

I could almost see the phone being pulled out of his hand.

A voice as warm wolf's fur and twice as dangerous came over the receiver. "And exactly where would Frisk be going?"

"Hello, your majesty. Nice to hear your lovely voice."

"If this is a recruiting call, you won't be getting anywhere."

I rolled my eye. "We've got a transformed Sans. We think your Frisk can get him back to normal."

"I got that part. Where would she be going?"

"Seraph Foundation Facility."

Silence.

I waited.

"We'll be there at 10am your time." He hung up.

Frisk looked at C, smiling.

He pointed at her. "Not putting you back on the training floor. You're going back to bed. I will seriously start scheduling people to come in here and sit on you if I have too."

"Day off to sleep. Doctor's orders," Asriel said. He pointed at her breakfast. "Drink your tea."

Frisk sighed and drank her tea. Setting the cup down, she blinked a few times. Her hand came up to rub her head as her eyes closed. Asriel caught her before she fell out of her chair.

I stood and picked her up out of Asriel's arms. "Could you warn me when you're going to drug her?"

"She would beat me senseless if I did that!" He pointed at the cup. "That was chamomile tea. The sleepiest of teas."

I put Frisk back in bed and checked my phone. Thirty until G arrived. Back in the kitchen, Asriel was putting dishes in the washer. I patted Dragon Sans on the snout. "I'll be out with G and his Frisk as soon as they get here."

He nodded and pulled his head out of the window.

"Need any help?"

"No." Asriel shut the dishwasher and hit the start button. "We're good. I'll meet you down at the entrance in ten."

I short cut over to the suite Paps and I shared.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, SANS? I HOPE YOU WEREN'T SLEEPING ON THE COUCH IN THE LIVING QUARTERS."

I pulled off my shirt and dumped it in the hamper. "Nah. I was camped out on Frisk's couch last night. She was doing her 'wait till everyone is asleep and keep working' routine."

He frowned. Which is not an expression I like seeing on him. I went in my room and dug a turtle neck out of my dresser.

"DO YOU THINK SHE'S TRYING TO SAVE HIM AS A WAY TO SAVE HERSELF?"

I pulled on the turtle neck and leaned my arms against the dresser. "I'd thought about that. But that's not how Frisk sees herself." I looked at my brother. "It's more that she's so disappointed in him that she's trying to show him up by fixing him. Frisk has always been competitive."

"EVEN MORE SO SINCE HER LV INCREASED TWO YEARS AGO."

I pushed my drawer shut and turned, leaning back against it. "Got any suggestions?"

"SHE NEEDS A BREAK. GIVE HER SOMETHING ELSE TO FOCUS ON. PERHAPS NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO GET HER TO TALK ABOUT HER PAST."

"That means sharing ours."

Paps pointed at me. "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS NOT INCLINED TO DO THAT, SANS. WOULD YOU PREFER THAT I HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH FRISK?"

I huffed and pulled my jacket on. "I'll fix it."

"GOOD."

I stopped at the door and hugged him.

He hugged me back. "WHY ARE YOU SO SHORT, MY BROTHER?"

"I'm not short. You have to be that tall to contain all your enthusiasm."

"NYEH HEH HEH!"

I patted his back and let go, heading out of the suite and to the entrance. G appeared with his Frisk and Chara in tow just inside the front doors.

G looked like me and yet, didn't. There was a sweetness to his face that no other version of us contained, and he was shorter by a good six inches. Next to him stood an adult male Chara with spiky brown hair in a gray shirt and brown jeans under a long, black, red lined coat, the Delta Rune embroidered on the back. Around his neck was a heart locket. G's Frisk, a twenty-something young woman in a dark turtleneck sweater and short plaid skirt over black tights and brown boots, stood in front of them both. Her long white hair was braided and twisted into a bun on her head.

"Hey guys."

G smiled brightly. "*bones!"

"Nice to see you're not essence bleeding."

"*papyrus and I figured out how to stop that completely by accident." He looked at me with a really embarrassed smile. "*please don't ask!"

Chara crossed his arms over his chest. "Where's Az?"

I frowned. "Good question." I looked behind me. "He was supposed to meet me here." I shrugged. "Come on."

I led them out to the gardens behind the building. Dragon Sans looked over and stepped carefully so as not to shake the ground too much as he walked. He eyed the newcomers.

"This is G, Frisk, and His Majesty, Chara Dreemurr."

Chara waved off the formal title. "For home, not here." He reached out and rubbed Sans' boney snout. "Hey, big guy."

Frisk stepped around Chara and put her hands on Sans' massive skull. "I'm going to use magic on you. Is that okay?"

Dragon Sans laid down, putting his head on the ground. "*go ahead."

She drew several quick patterns down his skull with her finger. The patterns turned gold and glowed brightly. An image of what Dragon Sans was supposed to look like appeared over the symbols. A Sans of my variation with a longer face and a bright yellow eye as opposed to my white one. There was a distinct composure to his face and a refined air to his posture.

"Interesting. How did you go from so little matter to so much?"

Sans remained silent.

Frisk smiled patiently and petted his skull. "I can't help you if you won't talk to me."

"*something my brother did."

"Why?"

"*soul." His soul coalesced in front of us; pure, white, and cracked.

Frisk and G gasped.

"You're damaged!" Frisk stepped back and looked at the dragon. "The dragon form is to protect your soul!" She held out her left hand, palm up.

Sans looked at G and I. "*safe?"

I nodded. "You let my Frisk near you."

"Why is that an issue?" Chara asked.

"His Frisk and mine are near mirror images of each other and his Frisk is the leader of Midnight Collapse."

G covered his mouth with one boney hand. "*oh my god."

Frisk put her hand on his skull. "Please?"

Sans sighed and let the his soul sit in the palm of her hand.

"Thank you. How did it crack?"

"*tried to fix frisk. failed."

Frisk took a deep breath. She started to glow a bright gold, head falling back. She began to float and ribbons of power flowed around her before wrapping around the soul.

Sans shivered.

The light died away and the soul in Frisk's hand was whole. It floated back to the dragon, disappearing within him. His eye changed from blue to yellow, the cracks in his skull opening. A long yellow tongue came out and licked her face.

"Eh! Glad you're happy."

Chara chuckled and handed her his handkerchief. She wiped the drool from her face.

"Now for the hard part. Getting you back into your original body."

"Will you stay with Frisk?" Chara asked G.

He nodded. "*of course!"

"Come on, Bones. I want to find Az."

"Good point. He should have caught up to us by now."

We headed into the building and found Asriel standing just inside the door talking with Agent Tahoma.

"Yo. Az."

Asriel and Agent Tahoma turned to Chara.

"Can we fix it tomorrow?" Asriel asked.

"Yeah..." Lily said, staring wide-eyed at Chara.

Chara and the goat prince hugged before walking off.

Agent Tahoma walked over to me, eyes still following Chara. "Geez! I thought the sex on you was loud. But the sex is so loud on that guy I'm picking it up rooms away with the TV on full blast!"

I chuckled. "You want a hand with that box?"

"Please." She handed it to me. "Who is that?"

"That's a Chara that didn't die from some unusual or suicidal circumstance," I said. "It's what C would have looked like had he not died in his teens."

"Hot damn."

"Where's the box going?"

"It just needs to go back in Agent Serif's office." She waved me a long and started walking.

I followed her down the hall. "You can just call her Frisk."

"Yeah. That just sounds so informal. I mean, she's a real life Viper! That's a huge deal. Like super legit. They never say who's in Project Viper when it's put together. You just know that things are going to go south for our enemies as soon as it's announced. And you know that every person picked for the project is a bad ass on epic levels. And I've not only spoken with one, I work with her and have even had lunch with her on several occasions. There are people who would kill for that kind of awesome!"

She stopped dead in the hall, looking at me excitedly. "And you get to _hit_ that!"

I sighed and closed my eye sockets. "We aren't like that, Lily."

"Seriously? You've been seeing each other for, what? Four years now? More?"

"You can have an intimate and loving relationship with someone without sex."

She huffed. "That's not what I meant. I was talking about the amount of time."

"Monsters live a very long time, Lily. Four years is like four days for me. It freaks me out how fast human children grow up. Escorting Vivi down the aisle at her wedding was surreal because she's only twenty-two. That's still early childhood for most monster types."

Tahoma looked at me thoughtfully. "I understand." She put a hand on my arm. "Humans don't live that long. Please remember that." She turned and started walking again.

I followed. Frisk was inside her office, in a blouse and long skirt, poking at the files on her desk.

"Hey, Beautiful." I set the box down. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"Chamomile may put me to sleep, but it goes right through me, so I wake up right away. Hey, Lily. Finished with the box?"

"Everything is scanned," Tahoma said. "I'll be working on Papyrus' papers next. Anything I need to know?"

Frisk shook her head. "Nope. If you have any questions about what you're looking at, just ask him. He'll be happy to explain in a completely normal and not Alphys-like fashion."

Tahoma gave Frisk a double thumbs up and left.

I sat on the edge of the desk, arms crossed, using magic to shut the office door and lock it. "You're driving yourself crazy with this. You haven't sewn or knitted in months. You bought a new sketchbook weeks ago and you haven't worked in it. You haven't gone out with friends. You haven't talked to your mother in ages. And she's texted me several times asking if you were okay. The only time you've taken any breaks was for anything having to do with Vivi's wedding and that's it. And the only time we've had together, minus the night after the wedding, I've spent trying to get you to slow down and sleep. So what, exactly, is going on?"

Frisk put hands in her lap and bowed her head, looking at them. "I can't let him win. I can't let some coward determine everyone's futures. I can't." She sat up and looked at me. "I've been over and over these files and I keep seeing the same thing. When either of us had the freedom in a mission not to take lives, he consistently did. Because it was easier to kill a target rather than sneak around them, knock them out, or turn them into an ally."

She pointed at the files. "He could have, at any point, completely disqualified himself for a Midnight Collapse order by his own command's rules for its use, simply by meeting his mission objectives in a less lethal manner."

Frisk sat back in her chair, staring at the files. "I've been going about this the wrong way. I keep thinking that my past is something I should just leave lying where it is and just ignore that I was good at what I did. It's time I start using my past to my advantage." She pushed aside the files and pulled out a piece of paper. "I've never told you what I did in the military and all you've ever heard from me was the mention of Project Viper." She started drawing up plans. "Project Viper only exists during a time of war and its only purpose is to handle 'morally questionable' missions. I was the team specialist in Asset Extraction and Retrieval." She looked up at me. "Those are just fancy terms for kidnapping and theft."

"You're going to kidnap him."

"I'm going to kidnap him."

"That's why you're so mad at his attempts to kidnap you. You think he should be doing a better job."

Frisk sighed and looked back at the paper. "His failure to grasp that stealth and misdirection were to his advantage angers me in a way that I can't really describe."

"What was your last mission? Was it the same as his?"

She shrugged. "Similar. I wasn't there to assassinate the terrorist leader. I was there to take him into custody. We had a deep cover agent in the terror group and I posed as one of his wives. It was arranged that I would be shown off as a point of pride. I was a 'daughter of the enemy.' I met with the leader multiple times under that guise. When I was trusted enough to handle serving him food while he worked alone, I called for extraction after drugging him. The cover agent, his family, my target, and I were far from enemy territory before anyone knew we were gone."

I stood and moved to stand behind her chair, leaning on it to watch her work. "What's your plan?"

"His attacks are coordinated with people who don't, for the most part, know what they're doing. I'm going to flip his script. On the next mission, we're taking a full team and dispersing them around the entire area. So when he makes his attempt on me, we can grab him instead. I need to talk to Red. I want him for this and I'll need his help coordinating."

There was a knock at the door. I flipped the lock and opened the door. Tex, the female Sans we'd picked up from Sheriff Sans' timeline, stuck her skull in the door. "I don't mean to interrupt, but G said to get youse both. His Frisk thinks she can get Dragon Sans back to normal. They're out in the parking lot."

Frisk smiled. "Great!" She stood and Tex closed the door.

I grabbed Frisk's arms so that I had her full attention. "This isn't a competition. You've pushed yourself to a limit that I am not comfortable with and it will not continue." I pulled her into my arms, holding her head against my rib cage. "Promise me you'll slow down."

Frisk turned her face into the fabric of my turtleneck, arms wrapping around me. "I promise." One hand slipped under my turtleneck and ran along my spine. Her fingers gently wrapped around my vertebrae, rubbing up and down. A deeply pleasurable sensation thrummed up my spine. She looked up at me, eyes like deep water.

I resisted the urge to put her back against the wall. "Don't distract me like that."

"I'm not trying to distract you. I'm apologizing," she whispered. She let go of my spine and ran her fingers along the bottom edge of my rib cage.

I took Frisk's chin in my phalanges and turned her face up, dropping my mouth toward hers.

The door opened and Sheriff Sans' Frisk stuck his head in. "Are you two coming outside?"

I stopped and sighed. "Yeah. We're moving."

Frisk took my hand and we headed out the door.

In the parking lot, everyone in the building had turned out to watch G's Frisk work. She'd drawn a huge circle in baby blue chalk in an empty part of the lot, the interior covered with long lines of symbols in white and yellow chalk.

Frisk pulled out her phone and called Red. He was suddenly standing next to her, the kiddo and Papyrus with him. The kiddo jumped several times, trying to see over people in front of her. Her Papyrus lifted her and put her on his shoulders.

G's Frisk directed Dragon Sans into the circle, carefully helping him place his boney feet. My brother stepped up next to me; a sweater, jeans, and bomber jacket I recognized as being mine in his arms. I looked up at him and he smiled.

"I DID NOT THINK YOU WOULD MIND."

I smiled and shrugged. "If this works, he's gonna need those."

Red had his arm around my girl, leaning in to whisper something in her ear.

She smiled. "That's legitimately terrible."

"*but you'll sleep so well when it's over that those circles under your eyes will be gone for good."

She rolled her eyes. "Along with my self respect."

He laughed, hugging her close.

G's Frisk finished her prep and took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"

"*yesss."

She stepped into the circle. "Then let's begin." Her blue eyes turned gold, glowing. A swirl of white light came up around her and she laid her hands on his skull. The light shot around Dragon Sans like a mass of ribbons, wrapping him in a cocoon. The lines of sigils underneath him glowed and G's Frisk started chanting. The light rushed upwards suddenly becoming too bright to look at. Frisk's legs gave out under her and G caught her, helping her sit as the glow from the circle died away.

Sitting in front of her was a skeleton with the all too familiar cracks in his skull and one bright yellow eye. He stared in wonder at his phalanges and the holes through the metacarpals.

He looked up, and dove at Frisk, hugging her with all that he had. "*You did it! You did it!"

She hugged him back. "Well, yes and no." She leaned back to look him in the eye. "The dragon form contained too much matter for it to just disappear and you spent so long in that form that it is intrinsic to you. So I split the difference."

"*What do you mean?"

"It means you can shift between both forms. Your dragon body is contained within this one. I was able to do it because you're like G. You literally have the void within you, so it makes a nice place to keep all the extra pieces of you. And, bonus! You get to keep all the extra HP."

He smiled at her, clavicle and scapulas dropping. "*Thank you."

"You're welcome." Frisk looked around and waved everyone else over. G pulled her out of the way while Sans was crushed with hugs and Papyrus helped him into proper clothing.

Chara put an arm around her. "Nice job."

"Thank you."

He looked over toward me and caught sight of my Frisk. "I was told you weren't well. That must be true because I've never seen you out of uniform before."

"It's been a long several months," she said.

He gestured, indicating people who weren't physically present. "Midnight Collapse has been a real pain for me, so I'll tell you what. I'm still not joining, but when you figure out where they're hiding, I'll be there for the assault."

"Thank you."

He nodded and looked down at his Frisk as they walked away. "Anything you want to do here before we head home?"

I didn't hear her answer.

"What's his deal?" Red's Frisk asked from her perch.

"He's a jerk," my girl said.

"I meant, what's he got to offer that he gets to be that rude?"

"That Chara can suck up monster souls and use their power," I said.

"Woah. That is both hella cool and hella frightening."

"INDEED," her Papyrus said. "THOUGH I BELIEVE HE FOUND OUT ABOUT HIS POWER COMPLETELY BY ACCIDENT."

I nodded.

The kiddo patted the top of her brother's skull. "Let me down, please! I'd like to go see Dragon Sans."

Her brother set her on her feet and she rushed into the crowd. Dragon Sans saw her and gave her a big hug, twirling her around.

White was suddenly standing between Frisk and I. He put his arms around us, smile almost too big for his face. "I have someone you need to meet."

Blue appeared and winked at us.

"We've met," Frisk said.

"Not him! Her!" He held out his hand a human soul appeared, held aloft in his magic. "This is the Frisk formerly trapped in my badge!"

 _Hi._

"*holy shit, white! well done!" Red said. "*is it a repeatable trick?"

"Yes! But here's the best part! Show 'em!"

A glowing reset button appeared in front of the soul and the noise of the crowd suddenly died, everyone crowding around.

White giggled like a mad man. "Her world isn't gone until she is! All of the collapsed timelines are there, waiting for their Frisk's to reset them!"

"*gather everyone and have them bring their badges," Blue said. "*a few of them are going to need what asriel's gotten hidden away in his apartment."

Frisk and I looked at Asriel. "What do you have in your apartment?"

He put his snout in his hand. "Just gather all the badges. I'll be down with them."

All Sans-es and a few Papyrus-es in the crowd pulled out their badges. Several more appeared as we waited. When Asriel came back out of the building, a rainbow of six human souls floated around his head.

"*you gotta be fuckin' with me," Red breathed.

"That is the absolute last thing I expected to see today," I said. "So, you got anything to tell us, Goat-Boss?"

Asriel sighed. "After Frisk opened the barrier, they stayed with me."

The souls floated around him, hugging him tight.

"It's not that they can't leave. It's that they won't."

"*and that's just fine, because we can use their help," Blue said. "*as white releases the trapped frisks several of them will need healing. these kiddos right here can provide that." He nudged White. "*time's a wastin,' white."

White isolated and released the Frisk in each badge as it was put in front of him and every Frisk in need of healing was surrounded in turn by the other souls. When White finished, he look incredibly tired but deliriously happy. Fifty-four Frisk souls floated around us.

"All right, everybody! Time to reset!" White yelled.

Fifty-four reset buttons glowed in the sky and the souls began to disappear.

"Wait!" Sheriff Sans' Frisk was holding on to Tex. She was disappearing.

She smiled and hugged him tightly, ruffling his hair. "You did great, buddy. We'll see each other again. My kiddo, she needs me now." Tex disappeared, sucked back to her timeline and its reset.

"Goodbye!" Red's kiddo waved as the souls disappeared, green and blue braids swinging wildly.

"Goodbye is right. Goodbye to at least 70% of Midnight Collapse!" White laughed maniacally while the rest of us stared in awe.

Red put his arm around my girl. "*not a bad way to end a day, huh?" His wolfish smiled returned. "*so whadya say? it will totally knock you out."

"I am not going to be your vicarious tattoo collection, Sans!"

"*come on, sugar blossom! you've only got the one. you need more! how about some flowers right here?" Using his rib cage as an example he indicated the area just under her breasts. "*i'll make sure the tattoo artist doesn't get handsy."

Frisk pointed at him with a mock glare.

He held up both hands. "*okay! okay! I'll stop." He put his arm around her again. "*promise me you'll take a break, alright? let us handle things for a bit. it's okay to rely on us." He smiled. "i'm a reliable guy!"

She smiled and sighed. "That you are. I do need your help. I'll show you what I'm up to in the office."

They headed off together toward the building.

"AS USUAL, MY BROTHER'S JOKES ARE TERRIBLE."

"Tibia-honest, I find them quite humerus."

He swatted me up the backside of the head.

xxx

Author's Note:

I do my best to not go too far into describing what a character looks like since everyone has their particular opinion or headcanon. For example, the eternal argument over how tall or short any particular Sans might actually be. While it was unintentional in the original draft, I have left in my personal opinion of Sans' height. Did you catch it?


	11. Ep 11 - Retaliation

Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community creation. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

Special Disclaimer: Yes. The ringtones are Markiplier references.

1\. The end is near! I will make a guide that will occupy the 13th chapter slot and talk about the characters and the writing process for the fic. If you have any questions about the story or the characters, please hit me up with a PM or put them in a review and I'll add them to the FAQ at the end of the guide.

2\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence. Red makes an appearance in this episode so, yeah, language.

3\. I got a review and a few PM's asking for this, so here ya go: Army!Frisk is this episode's narrator.

Ep. 11 - Retailation

"Thanks for helping me change the music in the jukebox," Bones said as he slipped the last LP into place and connected the wires.

I let the shiver his uncanny voice easily sent through me rush along my skin. We were alone. No one to see it but him. "You're welcome."

Bones closed the cabinet and stood, giving me that cocky smirk of his. He flipped through the new music list and hit play. Sinatra crooned "It Had to Be You" through the speakers. He took my hand and pulled me close, placing my left on his shoulder and taking my right in his. His left hand pressed against my back, leading. Oh hell. I was blushing like an idiot, wasn't I?

"So," he said as he slowly lead me around the garage, "we have the whole afternoon to ourselves. What would you like to do? It's been ages since we've gone skating. We could hit the movies. We could go on a pickin' trip. Or we could head out to the park to go camping. No matter what we do, I'm stealing you away for star gazing tonight. I finally have the Hornet in working order and I believe I said you get the first ride."

He twirled me around and back again, before crushing me against his chest.

"So what'll it be, Sunflower?"

There was a gleam in his white eye. The contemplation of a few unmentioned options hidden behind his eternal smirk. I laid my hand on the side of his skull and he dropped his head toward mine.

There was an insistent knock on the door and Dragon Sans poked his head into the garage. "*Have you seen Frisk?"

Bones, without letting go, pointed at me.

"What do you need, D?"

He sighed, annoyed with himself. "*Sorry. Wasn't specific enough. Have you seen Red's Frisk? She asked me to look over her last chemistry exam with her, but hasn't shown yet."

"How long has it been since she was supposed to be here?"

He stepped into the garage. "*Thirty."

I stepped away from Bones. "C? Check the facility."

"On it."

I pulled out my phone and called her. The call went directly to voice mail. I called Red.

"*hey, sugar plum. did the mission we've been waiting for come along?"

"When did Frisk leave for the Foundation?"

"*the kiddo left an hour ago."

"She's not on premises," C said.

Oh no. "Call her, Sans."

Red hung up on me and appeared next to me a minute later, both eyes flickering crimson. "*voice mail and she isn't answering texts. frisk _never_ turns off her phone."

Bones pulled out his phone and dialed. "Fase? I need you to scan for Red's Frisk."

My stomach bottomed out. "Come on," I said. I headed out of the garage for the equipment room. "I don't think the mission we're waiting for is going to come." Red, D, and Bones followed me down the hall. One of Bone's GBs floated toward us, happily slinging back and forth. I grabbed the bottom of it's jaw and pulled it along. It happily knocked against my shoulder while I opened the door to the equipment room.

"Any word from Fase?"

Bones shook his head. "Nothing yet."

Frisk suddenly appeared in front of us, bloody, and holding onto a small boy with all her might. Flowey was wrapped around the boy, panting with pain, his vines covered in deep cuts. He'd taken the brunt of an attack for the child.

"It's okay! You're safe now! You're safe now!" She rocked the boy back and forth while he cried. "He can't hurt you here."

Red knelt next to her, touching her head. "*what happened, sweetheart?"

She looked up at us and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry!"

"*why?"

"I solved for Prime!" Tears streamed down her eyes. "I couldn't let him get hurt." The boy, a very young Frisk, clutched at her tightly.

I knelt in front of her as Red pulled her into his arms. "Tell us what happened."

"I was on my way here when D's brother grabbed me. His Frisk threatened to hurt the little guy if I didn't finish the equations to get them onto the Prime world."

"How did you get away?"

Frisk sniffed. "After the equations were confirmed, D's brother distracted him long enough for us to get away." Her head dropped and she hugged the boy in her arms. "I'm so sorry."

"*You have no reason to be sorry," D said.

She looked at us through her tears. "Why? Why threaten someone else? Why not just torture it out of me?"

Red frowned. "*you're my frisk." He pulled her head to his rib cage, petting her hair. "*if he knew even a little about you, he knew that you would never give in the same way you never gave up on me. but you would cave to threats against someone else. even someone you didn't know."

"I'm so sorry."

"*you did the right thing. never be sorry for that."

"We need to get to Prime," Bones said. "Can you give us the equations?"

She nodded and pulled up her sleeve. Her arm was covered in numbers and wrapped in clear tape to keep it from smudging. Bones pulled out his phone and took a picture of the equations.

"D? Call White so he can work his magic on the kids and get them to the lab. Flowey's in bad shape." I stood. "Bones. Red. We have to book it."

D grabbed my hand, yellow eye glowing. "*Let me come with you!"

I squeezed his hand. "You're the Ace up my sleeve. I need you to stay hidden. Stick with the kids for now. They need you."

He nodded. Letting go of me, he easily scooped up both of the kids and hurried down the hall toward Asriel's lab.

I went into the equipment room, pulling my dress up over my head. Bones tossed me my uniform from the shelf.

"*looks like our plans have gone to shit. this is serious escalation." Red's eyes were burning a deep and calculating vermilion. I'd never seen him this intensely angry before and it was awe inspiring to watch him channel it.

"It's retaliation," Bone said. "We destroyed a large chunk of their forces with the mass resets."

"He showed us his hand, so he has to move fast if he wants to win with his resources dwindling." I finished buttoning my uniform shirt and pulled on my jacket. I grabbed my bag. "Let's go."

Red grabbed the GB's mandible while Bones put his arm around me. We landed outside a large building with the Delta Rune over the door under a starry sky. Everything was quiet and nothing looked the worse for wear. I shrugged at the guys and knocked on the door.

"*come in."

I pulled the door open and we stepped into a huge, gallery style lobby with balconies off the second floor. Blue was sitting behind a large circular desk with his feet up on the counter, arms behind his head.

Red eyed him suspiciously. "*for someone who's kept his world locked down, you don't seem all that surprised to see us."

Blue shrugged. "*you were going to get here one day. it's just a little sooner than i expected." He stood. "*everyone's gone for the night. well, alphys is probably still around. dings is definitely still working away in the lab."

"Midnight Collapse is coming," I said.

He nodded. "*i know. i've been preparing for them to arrive for a very long time. i knew they'd eventually get here. that they'd figure it out or force someone to figure it out for them." He looked at Red and flinched. "*i take it your kiddo was the one they forced."

White came in the door. "Oh good. Not too late. What's the plan?"

Blue hit a button and the front doors suddenly locked and barred. "*i've been letting you guys do all the work. so why don't you take a load off?"

"You aren't concerned in the least," I said. "We have no idea how many people MC has left and if they get their hands on the Prime Frisk-"

The door shuddered under a massive impact, the glass in it breaking.

"Ten hostiles outside," C said. "They're ramming the door with a truck."

"*take a seat, kids. i've got this." He snapped his fingers, turning us all blue and putting us behind the desk.

"*what's the big idea, asshole?!" Red struggled against the hold. I could see everyone attempting to cut through the magic to no avail. I motioned for the guys to calm down and wait.

Another impact rocked the building and the front of the truck came through the doors. It pulled back and several Chara's poured in.

"*well, why don't you just let yourselves in." Blue leisurely walked over to face them.

"Oh look. Just one smiley trash bag!"

"He won't last long."

Blue shrugged, still smiling. "*it's going to be a beautiful day outside. birds will be singing. flowers blooming. but on a starry night like this, kids like you..."

Both of his eyes turned blue, the power streaking over him. He rose in the air on a cloud of blue magic, throwing a mass volley. While the Chara's dodged, eight GBs flew out of nowhere, grabbing the badges from their jackets. A strike rose out of the floor, impaling all of the Chara's, leaving them completely exposed to a round of GB blasts.

"* _should be burning in hell_ _._ "

The Chara behind the wheel of the truck hit the gas and sped toward Blue. He snapped his fingers and the truck froze in place. He flung it backward out of the building.

"Where is your Frisk?!" I looked up at a balcony on the right and saw the Coward.

Blue winked his right eye at him. "*i'm sure if you look hard enough, you'll find 'em. i mean, they've got to be around here somewhere, right?" A red human soul encased in a white monster soul glowed in front of him.

The Coward's Papyrus panicked and teleported his Frisk away. Blue's magic let go of us. He gathered up the badges and tossed them to White.

"*that was a bit lack luster for a fight." He shrugged. "*oh well. it was a desperate move. i'm sure he's figured out that by taking red's kiddo they gave away their position. gotta go protect the home base, right?"

I shook, staring at Blue. " _What did you do?_ "

He sighed, hands shoved in his pockets. "*my frisk died a very, very long time ago." His eyes were watering, tears threatening to break. "they were 102 years old. pretty good for a human, huh? i knew when it was time and i begged the kiddo not to leave. to reset. just reset."

He wiped the tears from his eyes. "*and they told me that they had. thousands upon thousands of times. every variation, every tiny addition or subtraction, every way things could have possibly gone, they'd seen. and that knowledge combined with their ultimate determination was their gift to me. to guide me in fixing all the anomalies."

He pulled up his turtle neck revealing a red soul resting within his white one. "*so, they're still here. it's been several hundred years since then and they sleep more often than they used too, but, at least i get to keep 'em."

He pulled his shirt back down. "*i was so mad at them for so many of the resets. whether the memories were vague or sharp, they were still painful. it wasn't until i had absorbed the kiddo's soul that i realized that they'd been looking for the perfect ending. the right combination of factors to that one perfect place for all the people they loved. and when they'd found it, they stayed there, patiently waiting for the day they gave it all to me."

He touched my forehead with one phalanges. "*a few years back, the kiddo showed me you. we needed your sans and your sans needed you. you needed to fall and i orchestrated it."

"You were the one who offered me the money to investigate the disappearances on Mt. Ebott."

Blue nodded. "*and you did a bang up job."

"Every time you bowed your head to think about something, you were talking to your Frisk," White said.

"*yep."

"HE'S SO CUTE! HE SHOULD GO TO HELL AND DIE, HE'S SO CUTE!" My voice screamed from Red's pocket.

I stiffened and turned bright red as Red pulled out his cellphone.

"Sans, did you make a ringtone out of me yelling at a video game?"

Red smiled and put an arm around me. "*of course not, sugar puss! i made _several_ ring tones out of you swearing at a video game. Paps asked for the 'poem.'"

"And so the true cost of agreeing to a deal with Black sets in," Bones chuckled.

"Keep that up and we'll turn today's mission into a round of 'Hunt the Sans-es,'" I gritted out.

White pointed to Red. "Today on Frisk's DIY, she's going to show you how to make an attractive corpse."

"*not until i've had the chance to make some attractive corpses out of the assholes who kidnapped my little sister." Red's smile turned big and mean. He punched Blue in the arm. "*bastard."

Blue smiled. "*have your kiddo give fase the equations so she can get us the lay of the land."

Red looked at his cell and then grabbed my arm, holding up his phone. "*we need to head back to the foundation. the fucktards are attacking there."

All our phones went off at once.

"*i'll round up some help and meet you there," Blue said. He disappeared.

Bones put his arms around me. "One of you grab my GB for me, please." We fell into the void and landed directly in the armory, behind the hidden door. I could hear running in the hallway outside. When I tried to step away, his grip on me tightened.

I looked up at his face.

"Promise me that you'll keep your LV under wraps."

I sighed, looking away. "I'm sorry you feel the need to ask." I took his skull in my hands and stood on my toes to kiss his nasal bone. "I promise."

He let go and we both turned to the shelves. We grabbed our favorite toys.

"Give us the situation, C."

"We have fifteen hostiles on premises. They're spread out across the building. Give me a sec to tap into their comms." He paused. "They're looking for Red's Frisk."

"Where is she?" Bones asked.

"Asriel has her and the boy hidden off the nature trail. Looks like Az got wind of their target really fast and moved her right away."

"Casualties?" I asked.

"None so far. Just injuries. Visual data shows that when the alarms triggered, Dragon Sans started moving anyone in harms way to safe places. Damn! He's fast! Everyone else has evacuated or hidden."

"Best place for us to start from?" Bones asked as he put his arm around me.

"Front doors."

Bones short cut us to the front doors.

"Hostiles just dropped from fifteen to ten," C said.

"Blue's here, huh?" Bones asked.

"Yes, but that was all Red. And I was not aware that there was a Ninja Sans. Why isn't she on our team?!"

"We can ask her when we're finished. Start giving us directions." A movement caught my eye and I looked out the door. The Coward was heading toward the nature trail. I spun on my heel and ran out the door.

"Frisk!"

I ignored C's cursing in my head.

"Stop screaming and start tracking. _He's_ heading for the nature trail," I said.

C quieted and a map of the area appeared in my head, the Coward glowing like a beacon ahead of me. He was too fast for a foot race. I made a sharp turn and headed for the woods, taking my own kind of short cut toward the trail through the mossy sections of the forest in order to cut him off as quickly and quietly as possible. At this rate, I would run into him just as he got to where Asriel and the Frisks were hidden.

"Shit, you're really banging on the door to the basement in your head," C said.

"Tell her to sit her ass down on the stairs. I don't need her to beat this cockroach."

I could see C's smile behind my eyes. "Trail in 50 feet."

I pulled the gun with foam core.

"Trail in thirty."

I rounded a felled tree and came to a dead stop by a huge oak. The glowing beacon in my head closed on my position. I aimed carefully and fired twice, catching him in the chest and legs with foam core. He hit the ground, skidding to a stop.

"OMG! You are such an amateur sometimes!" the hologram projecting from his collar mocked.

I heard the popping hiss of dissolvent as I came out of the tree line and the Coward muscled out of the foam. He jumped to his feet and stepped back to avoid getting my knee to jammed into his sternum. I kicked again and he moved back again. I rounded to sweep his legs and he jumped.

"So, what is this exactly?" his Chara asked. "Are you going to fight her or what? I mean, I already know you'd hit a girl. Hell, you murdered the one you were fucking in cold blood."

" _Shut up, Chara_."

C's voice ran through my head. "Wow. Asshole."

He jumped with a kick and I leaned backwards to dodge. He came down with two quick punches and got my cheek with a left hook. I stepped back and brought on another kick. He blocked it with one of his own and I hopped back. His next kick caught me in the face. I dropped my guard and a punch caught me in the sternum.

"That's better. For a second there, I thought you were going to choke again."

I ducked his next two swings and came up, catching him hard in the chin and knocking him on his back.

"Oh wait. Never mind."

The Coward gritted his teeth. "Either shut up or help, Chara!"

"Help? I give you far too much as it is. Maybe if you carry your own weight for a bit, I'll give you some pointers."

C hissed. "Why is replica me such a douche bag?!" C's attention was drawn to something. "We're gonna have company in about a minute. Let's show these idiots how it's done." C pulled a lock somewhere in my head and everything felt a little warmer, a little more present. Behind my eyes, a grid appeared over the Coward pointing out weak spots and holes in his armor along with a read out of suggested weapons.

I pulled the self extending metal staff from under my jacket and flicked it open. When the Coward stood, I swung, cracking him full across the face and sending him back to the ground.

"Useless!" His Chara disappeared and he stood. New information flowed along C's grid. The A.I. was taking him over.

He swung at me and I blocked it with the staff, turning to crack him with the back end. When he stumbled, I brought the staff up between his legs. He screamed in pain, but the A.I. still had control. He swung at me on unsteady legs. I cracked him in the side twice, before shoving the end of the staff into his stomach, and pushing him to the ground.

"He was doing better on his own," I said. I rested my staff on my shoulder. "He was trained to be an elite operative with superb fighting skills. Just how much of his skill have you squandered with your incessant yapping?" I lifted my staff. "This ends here."

I felt the bullet hit my right shoulder before I'd heard the shot. The second one caught me in the back, passing through a lung. I hit the ground, landing on the wounded shoulder. I gritted my teeth and worked on keeping my breathing even and slowing down my heart so I wouldn't bleed out.

"DAMMIT!" C yelled. "Bones! Red! Anyone! Get here before Frisk needs to access her save!"

The Coward rose, eyes red, and waved off the sniper. Chara's voice fell from his lips. "I want her alive. Has anyone found the Fell girl yet?"

A Chara came out of the tree line, a rifle slung over his shoulder. "She's somewhere around here. We need to eliminate her fast. The Prime Sans is here and he brought friends. Sans-es we've never seen before."

A Chaos Saber sliced the sniper in half. Asriel put himself between me and the Coward. His eyes were strange and his horns appeared longer. He certainly looked bigger. I felt cold and very thirsty.

The Coward froze, staring up at Az. One of his eyes turned blue.

"NO! NO!" The Coward's voice came back. He fell to his knees, holding onto his head. "I won't do it! I _won't let you kill him again!_ "

His Papyrus appeared, grabbed his collar, and disappeared.

Someone was wrapping a blanket around me. I couldn't lift my head to get a proper look. All I saw was a set of boney fingers.

Asriel knelt next to me and touched my head gently. "Status, C." His voice sounded strange. Far more kingly than it ever had before.

"With the exception of their leader and his Papyrus, all hostiles have been eliminated."

"I meant my sister."

"Right scapula, clavicle, and ribs three and four on the right are broken. Right lung punctured and significant blood loss. She's in shock and keeps thinking about how cold and thirsty she is."

Asriel looked at whoever was touching me. Was it Bones? I couldn't see if the boney hands had holes in them or not. "Get her to the lab and start talking to her. Don't stop until I need you out of the way. C? Tell Alphys to prep for surgery."

That voice which was equal parts ethereal and earthly wrapped around me. Bones lifted me and I shivered. I couldn't make out what anyone was saying anymore, vision blurry. I could still hear his voice, though not the actual words. I stared at the fur collar on his jacket just to have something to focus on. I wasn't sure how much time passed before I saw Alphys hand and an oxygen mask coming toward my face. I felt a needle in my arm and I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a room off the lab in a medical bed. Bones was gently holding my right hand. He was sleeping on the two seater next to the bed. Mom was sleeping next to him, head on his shoulder. I knew from experience she'd regret that later. Boney shoulders did not make good pillows. My copy of Vandermeer's _Annihilation_ was in his lap. It's a short book, especially for a fast reader like him. I was sure he'd finished it.

C was asleep in his room in my head, curled up with his waifu pillow of a scantily clad, generic anime girl. He'd made it specifically to annoy me just after implantation when we were still getting used to sharing the same head. Now it was just another thing we both giggled about.

I used my left hand to lift the blankets covering me and winced. Asriel was an amazing surgeon, but this injury was going to leave a mark even after eating some monster food. Maybe, when everything was said and done, I'd take Red up on the tattoo idea.

I looked at the clock on the wall. Four in the morning. I attempted to sit up and immediately wished I hadn't.

D was suddenly standing next to the bed, gently laying me back down. "*Woah there," he whispered. "*Asriel didn't think you'd be awake this soon."

I stopped myself from shrugging, which would have been very painful. "Not the first time I've taken a bullet."

He smiled a little. "*I guess not." He sat on the edge of the bed. "*I'd get you something to eat, but Asriel was very clear that you didn't eat anything until he cleared it."

I nodded. "Do you mind if I ask you a question or two about your Frisk?"

D's skull took on that strange half frown I'd seen on every one of his variation of Sans. "*Well, yes. But I don't get the luxury of not answering, so ask away."

"He's been trying to kidnap me and when his A.I. had the chance to kill me, it said it wanted me alive. What's going on there?"

That half frown graced his skull again. "*You called Frisk a coward. He doesn't like to be seen as weak in the same way that you don't like to ask for help. It maybe that he's trying to kidnap you so he can convince you he isn't a coward. When he's flustered about something, he always falls back on wanting to explain how the situation was not the way you saw it. As for the A.I., I don't know. That _thing_ was never right."

"Was it always so antagonistic to him?"

D shook his head. "*That grew over time. After I tried to make a reset that would give Frisk the memory erasure he so desperately wants, it became severely frustrated with him. The A.I. was the one searching out the other Frisk's with his past to start. When Frisk and Paps would come back from meeting one of you, Frisk would be worse and the A.I. would be quiet for a while. It never lasted long. As soon as a new version was found, the A.I. would again be abusive until after the meeting."

"As far as you know, did the other versions of me have A.I. implants?"

"*Some did. Some didn't."

And idea struck me. "Based on what you've seen in dragon form, would you say that Frisk's A.I. was more abusive after encounters with me?"

D's eyes narrowed. "*Now that I know you are the female Paps and Frisk spoke about on several occasions, yes."

I sank into the pillow, staring at the ceiling. "And your brother indicated that all the other versions of me encountered were dead." I closed my eyes for a minute, putting the puzzle together. I looked at him. "The A.I. wants a new host." I tried to sit up again and hissed at the pain, before laying back down.

I felt Bones squeeze my right hand, but kept looking at D. "I didn't know they had a sniper in their ranks until I ended up bleeding on the ground. That means the A.I. has been keeping the truly skilled Frisks and Charas in reserve while waiting to find a new host. Who made the badges?"

D shook his head. "*I don't know. I cannot imagine that my brother would do such a thing. But, like your Sans and Papyrus, we are effected by a Gaster that has been dispersed. The world their holed up on might have a version of my father that was truly evil." He looked down. "I don't like to think about that. I miss my father and it's hard to think of him in that light especially when I live with his memories."

I squeezed his hand again and gave him a smile. "Thank you for helping us yesterday."

He grinned with a sheepish blush and rubbed the back of his skull. "*You're welcome!" He looked at me seriously for a moment. "*I would have helped even if I hadn't owed you all." He patted my hand. "*I'll go see if Asriel is up yet. The sooner you have some monster food the sooner you'll be on your feet. Red and his brother are waiting to talk to you."

I nodded and watched him go. Bones squeezed my right hand again and I looked at him.

"Hey, Beautiful. How ya, feeling?"

"The pain meds are starting to wear off. So, not so great. How much of that did you catch?"

Bones stood and touched my face. "I've been awake since D came into the room."

"Hands to yourself, Sans."

Bones looked at my mother and gave her a big smirk. He moved one boney hand to cover my face and put the other on my stomach. "Good morning, Grace!"

Mom rolled her eyes and came to stand next to him. She swatted at him with a smile and he went back to holding my hand. She pulled the blanket back to look at the injury and flinched. "Will you please stop trying to do impressions of your father? Dying heroically is not a competition."

Bones pointed at my mom. "I'm with her on that one."

She shooed him along. "Shoo! Give me a minute with my only child."

He gave her a bright smile and a mock bow. "Yes, ma'am." He leaned in and nuzzled my cheek. I gave him a quick peck on his jaw bone before he headed out the door.

Mom sighed, watching him go, a soft smile on her face. "He sat here reading that book to you while you slept."

"I was wondering why Bones had it."

"He said he does that whenever you're recovering from an injury in the lab. It's a good book. Your dad would have loved it." Mom hopped up to sit on the edge of the bed. "Stop scaring Sans like that. I made peace with the inevitability of you suffering horrific injury and death when your father told me you'd been selected to be a Viper. Sans is not prepared for that. I understand that you have some special ability to go backwards in time and cheat death, but that ability does not erase his memory. I know that you've died in his arms at least once. Your training taught you to be self reliant, but this is not the same thing. You can rely on Sans."

I smiled. "Are you saying you like my boyfriend, Mom?"

Mom pointed at me. "You're trying to change the subject. Stop." She frowned. "And don't call him your boyfriend. That's not even close to describing your relationship. It's not intimate enough." She leaned in and kissed my forehead. "From what Red is working on in your office, I'm pretty sure that this is it for the people who have worked so hard to kill us all. The last stand. Don't let it become the moment so intense that Sans walks away because it's easier to be without you than to be near you waiting for the moment you disappear on him for good."

I covered my face with my left hand, eyes closed for a moment. When I opened them, I noticed the edge of a boot next to the window wall. Bones hadn't left. He'd just moved out of sight. I sank back into the pillow again. "I won't."

"Good." She hopped off the bed.

Asriel came in the room with a tray. "You're up way too early." He set the tray down and I spied a piece of his special cinnamon-butterscotch pie.

My mouth started watering. "Can I have the pie now?"

"After I check my work. And I'd rather you sleep instead." He pulled the blanket away and carefully inspected the exit wounds on my shoulder and underneath my breast. Helping me sit up, he looked at the entry wounds on my back. He frowned and sighed. "I did my best, but even after I give you the pie, you'll still have scarring."

"I figured that would be the case."

He pulled the rolling table over and put pie in front of me. "Here you go. Fresh from the oven."

I smiled and dug in. The boot edge wasn't in sight anymore. I sighed and chewed thoughtfully while Mom talked with Asriel. The pie finished, I could feel my insides completely knit back together. I rolled my right shoulder. I was stiff, but otherwise good.

Bones appeared in the door with my uniform in his arm. "Ready to feel normal again?" He handed me the uniform.

Mom huffed. "If you equate her uniform with normal I'll smack you."

I pulled on my pants. "Be nice to him or he might not let you borrow the Camaro anymore."

Bones shrugged. Mom reached into his pocket, quick a snake, and grabbed the keys to the garage. He snatched them back just as quick.

My jaw dropped. "Are you trying to steal from Bones?"

"I'm trying, but he's not making it easy."

He winked at her with his left eye.

I chuckled and buttoned my shirt. After pulling on my socks and shoes, I stood. "Time to see what Red and his brother have cooked up."

"I hope you don't mean that literally, because I'm pretty sure Papyrus uses his cooking as a form of torture," Asriel said, wincing.

"That bad, huh?" Mom asked.

I left the room and Bones followed. I'd taken two steps passed the door when he put his arm around me and short cut us to my apartment. I turned to look at him. He was so tired, his eye didn't have it's typical white glow.

I touched the side of his skull. "You need more sleep."

"Not as much as I need you." He nuzzled my neck, his tongue sliding under my collar.

Oh God. He... He was never this bold. How badly had I scared him?

I sighed when his boney hands came up under my dress shirt. I ran my fingers along his rib cage, earning a satisfied hum.

"You know I'm not going to abandon you, don't you?" he whispered. One of his hands slid down my back while the other came up my side.

I wrapped a hand around his spine, gently caressing the vertebrae. He put my back to the wall and claimed my mouth when I gasped.

The room suddenly felt crowded. A deep exasperation passed over Bones. I looked around him and saw Red and King Chara sitting on my couch.

"Oh, don't stop on our account. Looks like you two were getting to the good part," Chara said. He smiled, hands behind his head, one leg propped up on the other.

I glared at him.

Chara chuckled. "Oh please. It's not our fault if we go looking for you after you both disappear from the lab."

"*sorry, sugar plum. if it were any other time, i'd let ya be. but we can't wait on this one." Red stood. "*are you feelin' all right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He frowned the way he always did when he wanted to talk and didn't have the time too. "*paps is waiting. you need to see the info fase pulled for us."

xxx

Author's Note: Vandermeer's _Annihilation_ is one of my fav sci-fi books. It's a short read and a good stand alone if you aren't interested in the reading the trilogy. Be prepared to never see lighthouses in the same way again.


	12. Ep 12 - Choices

Core Issues  
by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans (our lovely narrator) is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community creation. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

Special Disclaimer: Core!Frisk got a mention this episode. Core!Frisk belongs to Ivka/Doku.

1\. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence. Red makes an appearance in this episode so, yeah, language.

2\. Here it is! The end! I will post, as a 13th chapter, a guide to the characters and the story, including some info on how the plot changed over time. I will then go back through the whole thing to re-edit and fix continuity errors before posting it on AO3.

3\. As before, if you liked what you read, let me know! Send me a review! Even a simple, 'OMGosh I liked this!' is enough. Hated it? Say so! What didn't you like? Did you make some fan art? Tell me! I would love to see it! I'm seriously terrible at any kind of drawing so I love seeing everyone else's work (I kind of live on Picarto).

4\. Derivative works notice: So you want to write something using this fic as a back drop or inspiration? Awesome! Here's the disclaimer you should post with your writing: "This is a fanwork inspired by Core Issues by Nicolle. It is not part of the original story but my own ideas and work."

Ep. 12 - Choices

To call it a building was underselling it.

"This place is a _fortress,_ " I huffed.

Red nodded.

Frisk frowned. "Fase? Why does this placement look odd?"

Fase projected as a hologram, a small child in a striped shirt walking around the table. "Because it's right over this world's Core." The hologram building grew, displaying the interior. The basement rooms were highlighted. "I'm sure you all recognize this."

"That's a Gaster lab and a very complex one too. Looks like a medical bay here." I pointed to one area on the hologram. "I don't recognize this set up."

"I do." Our human Papyrus crossed his arms over his chest. "That's a match for my mother's lab."

"So this Gaster was a botanist. Does that match your data, Fase?" Frisk asked.

"There is a significant amount of plant life in the lower levels. And it's growing without direct sunlight."

"How far does Gaster's influence extend?" I asked.

"Based on the movements of D's brother, he doesn't go passed the medical bay unless he's forced too."

D frowned and I patted him on the back. "It's okay, man."

He sighed and his yellow eye took on a deep resolve. "*I know. What's the plan?"

"*our lovely, lady ninja heads in to disable the interior defenses," Red said, winking at Ninja Sans with his left eye. "*when she finishes, she will activate the fire alarm."

Red's brother pointed to the front gate. "THE WEAKEST POINT IN THEIR OUTER DEFENSES IS THE MAIN GATE. D'S DRAGON FORM WILL BUST IT OPEN AT THAT POINT."

"You can do that?" Papyrus asked.

D nodded. "*Even if the gate is coated in my brother's magic, I can bust it completely open."

"ONCE OPEN, CHARA WILL RAIN A GALACTA BLAZING ON THE FIELD. THIS SHOULD TAKE CARE OF ANYONE EVACUATING FROM THE FIRE ALARM AND REDUCE THEIR NUMBERS."

"*once the door is open, we head in. remember, every one of these assholes are the cream of the chara-crop. fuckin' pros. they ain't goin' down easy. after entry, our job is to grab sugar plum's twin and d's little bro. whoever gets to them first will teleport back immediately. asriel and undyne will handle restraining the frisk while bone's little brother will restrain d's."

Everyone nodded.

"ARE WE READY?"

"*almost," Blue said. "*this mission is different from any we have done before and a hundred times more dangerous." He held out his hand and a save point sparkled in his phalanges. "*this is a very special save. while a save point will only work for its world and its frisk, this one will bring us all back here to this moment should things go south. but more importantly, should anyone of us die, frisk will be able to pull us back through this save." He held it out to my girl.

Frisk touched the save and it flared for a second. She looked at her hand after touching it. "That felt strange."

"*just gave you a whole lot of control, kiddo. don't go wastin' it."

She nodded, filled with Determination. "Let's go."

We teleported en mass to the fortress. Frisk knelt next to me in a dark blue turtleneck and black pants, having ditched her uniform for something less conspicuous. "C? Confirm the number of hostiles."

"Twenty-four, including Frisk and D's brother. And you were right. He's reserved all the good people for defending the home base."

"Anyone else? Any hostages?"

"Nope. It looks like they're holed up and waiting for us."

"*they're waiting for sugar blossom," Red growled.

"Ninja Sans is in, disabling the interior defenses," White said. "All we have to do is wait."

"Again, why has no one told me that we had a Sans that was an actual ninja? She would have been so useful to have around," C grumbled.

Frisk smiled.

Red elbowed her. "*no matter what, stay with bones." He looked at me. "*put a fuckin' leash on her if you have to, just don't let her out of your sight."

"The only person who wears a leash around here is you, Sans," Frisk said. He gave her a wolfish grin.

Ninja Sans soft voice came over the comm. "*Things are about to get loud." An alarm went off inside the building.

"D! Break the wall!"

Several glowing, mystical circles of yellow appeared in the sky. A massive bone dragon came shooting through them, coating itself in magic, and slammed into gate, shattering it. The gate completely came down as he flew away and dived into the tree line. Chara held the heart locket around his neck, and the image of his late brother appeared over him. A Galacta Blazing rained down on the people evacuating the main building.

D appeared next to us in his skeletal form. We rushed the front doors. A shot went over my head and we ducked behind a column.

"Sniper! Over the doors!" Frisk yelled. "Give me a shield!"

I threw a barrier in front of her and knelt to give her covering fire while she ran for the shattered doors. Frisk got up underneath the sniper and fired upwards, hitting the her square in the chest with the foam core. D caught the sniper before she hit the ground and knocked her out. The doors of the main building were barred.

"Behind me!" Frisk ducked behind my legs. I summoned a massive bone strike and the door splintered. We ran through.

To the right, I could see Red, his brother, and Papyrus engaging several people. D, Frisk and I went inside, Chara watching our backs.

"Hostile count?" Frisk asked.

"Twenty remain."

The ground suddenly shook from a massive GB blast.

"Scratch that. Nineteen remain."

Ninja Sans dropped down next to us. "This way."

We followed her as she snuck us through the halls. I took a quick look back and saw Blue and White hit the stairs.

Red came running up behind us with both Papyrus-es, drawing fire from two people behind them.

Ninja Sans looked annoyed. "*Who are they?"

"*just some people we met at the party."

Frisk ducked against the wall. "They seem nice."

Chara turned, gun in hand, and fired twice, taking out knees. Papyrus the Greater speared both with bone strikes through the head before grabbing their badges. He was being more brutal than he had to be with both eyes glowing red. Hopefully he and Red worked out their anger by the time the mission was over.

We continued to a three way junction in the hall.

"C? Give me a map." Frisk blinked twice, seeing something we couldn't. "The right hallway leads to Utilities and Mechanical. The middle leads to the medical bay. The left leads to living quarters."

"*hostile count?"

"We are down to ten. Four to the right. They appear to be trying to get the interior defenses back on. Four to the middle. They appear to be arguing. Two to the left. They appear to be grabbing things to leave. I can't tell who's who. I'm only working on thermals. Blue and White have already cleared the upper floors and are coming back down now."

"*paps, papyrus, and i will take the right. sans and his majesty..."

Chara rolled his eyes at the fake obeisance.

"*can take the living quarters. sugar blossom, bones, and d take the middle. stick to the plan. grab and extract. avoid full confrontation." He looked at Frisk. "*don't go after your double. let bones handle him. take care of anyone around him."

Frisk nodded.

"*break!"

Frisk took the lead down the hall.

D's brother was running towards us, tears in his eyes, mumbling under his breath. He froze, blinking rapidly when he saw us. "SANS? IS IT REALLY YOU?"

D nodded. "*It's me."

Papyrus threw his arms around his brother, lifting him off the floor to hug him. "HOW? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?"

"*I can explain later. Where is Frisk?"

"THE MEDICAL BAY." He pointed.

Frisk and I turned.

"WAIT!" Papyrus pulled a syringe filled with a green liquid from his coat. "THIS IS THE SAME SUBSTANCE HE TRIED TO USE ON YOU BEFORE. INJECT THIS IN HIS NECK. IT WILL KNOCK HIM OUT AND DISABLE THE A.I." He looked at Frisk. "THE A.I. WANTS YOU. I'M SURE YOU'VE FIGURED OUT WHY."

Frisk nodded and stowed the syringe in her jacket.

C burst to life on her shoulder. "Yeah. I'm not giving up my Frisk to some douche bag."

"Why did you leave the bay?" Frisk asked.

Papyrus looked away. "THE A.I. MADE A DEAL WITH THIS WORLD'S REMNANT OF MY FATHER TO TRANSFER HIMSELF TO YOU. I REFUSE TO DO THIS. HE IS TOO BUSY ARGUING WITH THE OTHERS TO HAVE NOTICED THAT I AM GONE."

D put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "*This will end today."

The sound of feet pounding the ground came down the hallway. D's Frisk, two Chara's flanking him, came to a stop just ahead of us.

"What are you waiting for?! Grab her!"

Papyrus stood tall and straight. "I REFUSE."

" _What?_ " One of his eyes turned red.

"I REFUSE."

Both eyes turned red and the A.I.'s voice fell from his lips. "Oh what a laugh! Do you really think that stopping now will earn you forgiveness for the sins crawling on your back? Put your head back on straight and grab the bitch!"

"NO. I AM DOING WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE IN THE BEGINNING. I HAD HOPED I COULD HELP FRISK BY PROVIDING HIM WITH THE MEANS TO RELIEF. BUT ALL I DID WAS HELP _YOU_."

"D? Take your brother back to Asriel. Bones and I have this," my girl said.

D took his brother's hand and they both disappeared.

The red eyes glowed with delight. "Oh what a laugh! Three on two? You have absolutely no chance."

My girl actually stopped dead and looked at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Get her, you two. I've got the smiley trash bag."

Both Chara's rushed Frisk. She punched the one that got to her first in the face, stunning him for a moment. Ducking under the arm of the second, she grabbed him by the shirt and threw him into the first.

The A.I. rushed me with a knife. Odd choice considering what he had to be armed with. I short cut behind him and kicked him in the butt, sending him sprawling to the floor.

He rolled over, angry.

"If you're going to be a boring fight, you might as well stop now," I said. "You have absolutely no idea what you're doing. My girl's right. You squander your Frisk's abilities and training."

He growled and launched at me. I stepped to the side, letting him crash into one of the Chara's on Frisk.

The floor underneath us shook, like something underneath it was trying to punch it's way through. One of the Chara's grabbed my girl's arm, trying to steady himself. The floor cracked and completely caved in. All five of us fell as plant life rushed around us.

xxx

I stood and brushed off my jeans. Jeans? Since when did my current body own anything in denim? I looked around and caught a glimpse of myself in a broken piece of glass. Shorter. Face rounder. A different body altogether.

I liked the bomber jacket. Very nice.

My botanical pets seemed to have taken over this section of my laboratory. It was so difficult to continue one's studies when you needed someone else's body to work. Doubly so without assistants. Especially to trim and feed. One of my pets munched away on a young human male in a dark corner. Another was attacking an older human male who was doing well defending himself. A tendril of green reached out toward me and I gave it a loving tug, smiling a little.

A feminine groan caught my attention. A human female pushed herself to a sitting position next to me. She appeared to be a female version of the male who'd been making reckless deals with me for the past few years. At least the souls he'd provided for experimenting with the void had been an interesting aside.

Her clothing was ripped from falling through the hole in the ceiling. She pulled a tattered sleeve from her right arm, revealing a line of sunflowers tattooed from the inside of her elbow down to her wrist.

I was distinctly pleased to see this mark. Like it had been made for me.

She looked up at me with a rather lovely pair of blue eyes. Unlike her counterpart, they were unclouded. "Are you all right?"

What a fascinating voice! I raised a brow bone. She was worried about me? So she knew who this body belonged too.

"Oh."

My expression must have given away my 'residence' as it were. She stood and looked around. She seemed concerned about the possession, but also concerned about her surroundings. She shooed aside a green tendril reaching for her. She caught sight of the man being eaten and stepped backward.

I moved so that she stepped back against my rib cage and wrapped my phalanges around the tattooed wrist. She looked up at my skull. There wasn't any fear in her eyes. Her heartbeat remained steady under my grip. How very intriguing.

Another green tendril reached out to me and I tugged it softly. She watched the action carefully.

"What a mess! Can't you keep your 'pets' under control?"

Ah. Frisk had arrived. His eyes were red. So the A.I. had taken control of him. I was not fond of the thing. It seemed to think it was important.

He walked passed his comrades without concern for them, the older one finally being bested, and bitten in half. He caught sight of the female and suddenly looked excited.

"Excellent! You already have my new host in hand."

I looked down at her. From her expression, this news did not surprise her, but neither was she about to let it happen. I pushed the braid of her hair aside and found a connecting chip for an A.I. already in place. I had the distinct feeling that removing it would not remove the A.I. currently in her head. She hadn't tried to stop me when I moved her hair. I tapped the chip lightly.

"Please don't touch the implant, Dings," she whispered.

Dings? How incredibly... intimate.

A green tendril touched her hand and rather than shy away from it, she very gently brushed the ends before giving it a soft tug. It pulled back. Interesting. She was following my lead. She would make a wonderful assistant.

 _My favorite test subject._

Fascinating.

The A.I. stopped in front of us, looking the female over like she was an object for sale. "All the training and skills of my Frisk without the baggage! You'll make an excellent host!" He smiled at me. "It's not the body you've been using, but it's a good replacement. A permanent body for you. A new Frisk for me! Shall we finish the deal?"

 _No._

I raised a brow bone at him. "The deal is off."

The A.I. planted its fists on its hips. "And why is that exactly?"

 _Mine._

My grip tightened on the female. She did not resist or pull away. Even the tenor of her body did not change. She merely waited.

"I don't need to make a deal with you in order to keep this body. I only need to remain here in my lab. Did you really think that I would keep a promise knowing that in order to fulfill my end I would have to leave my own area of influence? I am not naive." I ran the phalanges of my other hand down the side of the female's face and over her shoulder. "She is a fine specimen." My boney fingers trailed down her back. "And I intend to make good use of my _favorite test subject_."

He growled. "Why are you acting so differently?"

"You idiot," the female said. "He's acting differently because he's a different person. Just because this world's Gaster has a strong influence does not mean that it completely overrides the will of another. They blend together, the dominating traits of both melding into a whole. The doctor you made a deal with doesn't exist outside of your Papyrus."

The A.I. launched at her. She pulled her arm from me and punched him hard enough that he hit the floor, skidding backwards.

"Come on, Coward! Are you going to let a piece of programming control you? He's not even the real deal!" she yelled.

He crawled to his feet and stood, eyes still red.

"Look at you! What a joke! Your plan was half-cocked to begin with and now that it's falling apart you're going to let poorly programmed code have control? And you call yourself a _Viper_?"

Frisk's eyes turned blue. "No. No! I am not a coward! You have no idea what I've been through!" He grabbed the front of her turtleneck and pulled her face close to his. I stiffened.

"What you've _been_ _through?_ _You_ made the choices! _You_ chose the easy way! _You_ painted the world red! _You_ made that decision! How dare you act like you didn't have a choice! For once in your life, own up to your mistakes!"

Frisk back handed her ans she hit the floor. She spit the blood from her mouth and glared at him, eyes like ice.

That was more than enough. I motioned for my pets to collect her. The vines wrapped around her, pulling her toward the mass of green against the wall.

"Hey!"

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I cannot allow such a valuable specimen to be damaged."

A syringe filled with a familiar green liquid fell from her jacket and rolled to my feet. I pointed and multiple green vines shot from my pets, seizing him. He struggled against their grip. I tapped the syringe to release any hidden air bubbles and then grabbed Frisk by his hair.

"Do stop struggling."

I plunged the needle into his neck near the A.I.'s implants. He went limp, head lolling forward. I held up the empty syringe and a tendril reached to grab it, taking it away. I went back to my specimen. She'd stopped struggling against my pets. They held her gently, but securely. I stood in front of her with my hands clasped behind my back.

She looked at Frisk. "Please don't hurt him."

I cocked my head to one side. "You're concerned about him? He struck you rather hard."

She looked at me. "Please."

I sighed. "Very well. I have little use for a broken specimen." I motioned for my pets to lift him out of the room and they dumped him in the hallway above us. I turned back to her, pondering which experiment to start first.

 _Mine_.

I blinked. That hadn't been my thought.

 _Do NOT harm her._

I huffed, annoyed. This is my body now, thank you. Do be quiet.

 _My Frisk_.

She wasn't looking at me anymore, her eyes were on the floor. She appeared to be far beyond exhausted and was using the moment to rest. I gently touched her face.

 _Mine!_

A tremor went through me and my hands moved of their own accord, pulling her right hand from the vines and trailing over the sunflowers on her arm. An incredible force of will slammed against me. I stumbled backwards, letting go of my specimen. It hit me again and I felt... dislodged? It hit me a third time and...

"Get out of my body and stay out!" I shuddered and rubbed my frontal bone. "Fuck that hurt!"

"Bones?"

"Yeah." I took her hand and tugged at her, the vines letting her go. "You all right, Babe?"

"Very tired."

I smiled and put an arm around her. "Then let's get out of here before these things decide to snack on us." I looked around. "Where's Frisk?"

"I convinced Gaster not to kill him." She indicated the broken ceiling with her head. "He's up there and out cold."

I short cut us to the hallway and found Frisk laying in a heap. I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder. "Ready?"

Frisk nodded and tapped her comm. "Threat neutralized. Everyone pull out."

I put my arm around her again and solved to take us home. We landed next to the lab and Asriel hurried out followed by Undyne. He reached to take the sack of potatoes from me and stopped when he saw his sister. He took her face in his hands, looking at her eyes.

"Status, C."

"Frisk is tired, but otherwise fine."

She waved him off with a smile. "Get to work, Goat."

Undyne took the Frisk on my shoulder and laid him down on the table prepped for him in the lab. Asriel and Frisk followed.

Asriel began washing and sterilizing. "Get cleaned up and get to bed. Doctor's orders."

Frisk held up her hands in mock surrender. "Going." She and I stepped outside and lab. She froze when she looked at the assembled and grabbed my hand tightly. Her eyes darted from face to skull, panicked. "Where's Red?"

Papyrus the Greater patted her on the shoulder. "HAVE NO FEAR. MY BROTHER IS SIMPLY ENGAGING IN A BIT OF WANTON DESTRUCTION."

Frisk's sudden relief took everything out of her and I put an arm around her so she would remain standing.

"*you did good, kid," Blue said. "*go get some well earned sleep."

She nodded and I walked her toward her apartment. The door was ajar. I pushed it open and found Paps, D, and his brother sitting in the living room, having tea. Well, the Papyrus-es were having tea. D probably had a cup of White Sauce.

Frisk smiled at my brother. "Taking over my apartment, Papyrus?"

He blushed. "I APOLOGIZE. I DID NOT THINK THAT YOU WOULD MIND. THERE IS NO WHERE ELSE IN THE FACILITY AS COMFORTABLE."

"I don't mind. I'm just not in any condition to play hostess." She looked at D and his brother. "Your Frisk is in surgery now."

The brothers stood and rushed to the door. Paps stood and smoothed out his pants. "I WILL RETURN TO CLEAN UP."

Frisk nodded and shooed him out the door. When the door clicked shut, she looked at me. "Will you help me?"

"What would you like me to do?"

"Talk to me so I don't fall asleep in the shower and crack my head open."

"Sure." I dropped my jacket on the back of a chair and walked her into the bathroom. She undressed while I got the water running. I tried not to flinch at the scars from the sniper rounds on her back and failed miserably. Once under the water, her head fell back, letting the water hit her face. I leaned back against the wall.

"Is it over then?"

I shrugged. "Seems to be."

Frisk was quiet for a minute while she washed her hair, tossing the band that held her braid onto the shelf next to the sink. "You fought off the influence this time."

"I..." I took a deep breath. "I saw what he had in mind for you and wasn't going to wait for someone else to help. Please don't ask what he was going to do. I'm going to be spending some time repressing that memory."

I could see her stiffen under the water. "Does that mean you remember the other times you were Gaster?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm pretty sure this was a unique instance. But I am going to be more proactive about taking myself back in the future."

She turned off the water. I grabbed her towel and slowed for a moment when I noticed two others hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

I wrapped the towel around her. "Feel a little more human?"

Frisk nodded and turned her back to dry off, before pulling on a nightgown and combing her hair. She took a step and stumbled. I caught her, put an arm under her knees, and lifted her. I carried her into the bedroom... and found out why two more towels were hanging in the bathroom. Red's Frisk and the small boy Frisk were curled up in her bed, fast asleep. Flowey had wrapped himself around a bedpost, petals drooping in sleep.

Frisk covered her mouth to keep her laugh from waking them.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Shall I put you in my bed then?"

"Would I get any sleep?"

I thought about that for a minute. "Eventually."

She smiled and sat up enough to kiss me. "I'd be asleep the moment my head hit the pillow."

I nuzzled her cheek. "And I'd pass out with a book on my chest a couple minutes later."

"I'll be fine with the kids for now."

I set Frisk on the bed and pulled the covers over her. The boy turned in his sleep, cuddling up. She smiled, putting an arm around him. I touched the side of her face gently and she turned her head to kiss my phalanges.

I went into the living room, closing the bedroom door quietly behind me. The tea cups were gone from the living room and I could hear water running in the kitchen. I went in expecting to see Paps and found Red washing dishes.

I leaned against the door jamb. "You could have left those. My brother would have gotten them."

"*sugar plum doesn't like to leave her teacups out like that and it gives me something to do."

"Where's your brother?"

Red shrugged. "*showing way more restraint than i can muster right now down in the lab. it'll be too soon if i never see that asshole again. i feel real bad for his sans and papyrus, but not enough to keep from rending the bastard limb from fucking limb if i see him." He yanked the drying towel off it's hook and worked on the cups. "*sorry to we had to interrupt you earlier."

I rubbed the back of my skull sheepishly. "Not the best choice of timing on my part."

"*nah. i understand. sugar plum scared the hell outta ya. scared the hell outta all of us." Red put the tea cups away and hung the towel back on it's hook. He turned and leaned against the sink looking out the window at the night. "*the kiddo sleeping all right in there?"

I nodded. "Any idea where the little boy comes from?"

"*yeah. he's ninja sans' frisk. it's why she was here so fast to help."

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I looked at it. "Looks like the operation was successful and he's awake." I shoved my phone back in my pocket.

"*headin' down then?"

"Yeah."

Red followed me into the living room. He kicked off his high tops and plopped down into the chair facing away from Frisk's sewing desk. He opened a rift and pulled a bag through from his living room. He sat back with his crochet project and started working away on a blanket I was sure was for his Frisk. Specifically crochet. If you called it knitting, he'd yell at you followed by my girl and Papyrus the Greater getting on your case as well. I recognized the socks on Red's feet as having been on his brother's knitting needles not too long ago.

I grabbed my jacket and short cut down to outside the lab. White leaned against the wall, nursing a mug of nacho cheese. Our human Papyrus stood next to him with a bottle of banana mustard.

"Where's his majesty?" I asked.

"Went home after I finished letting the Frisks out of the last of the badges," White answered. He looked over his shoulder into the lab. "Blue's in there talking to him."

"Any idea what Blue's going to do with him?"

White shrugged. "He was talking to the Prime Frisk. So, I guess it's up to them."

"All the missing timelines are back in place and the normal amount of anomalies are occurring according to Fase," Papyrus said. He looked at me. "Is it just me or does Fase really creep you out too?"

I let out a long, shaky breath. "All of us. Fase creeps out all of us." I thought about it for a minute. "Scratch that. Fase creeps everyone but other Frisks out."

He eyed me for a moment. "That's not a good sign."

"Yeah. You haven't met Core Frisk yet. If you ever meet her, every Frisk thinking Fase is normal makes complete sense," White grumbled.

I went into the lab.

Frisk was sitting up on the table staring at his hands. D and Papyrus stood next to him. Blue stood in front of them, talking in a low tone.

"*show me your reset, bud."

A glowing gold reset appeared in front of Frisk. Blue touched it and it turned red.

"What is that?"

"*the reset you so desperately want. this will take you back to your birth. it will also guarantee two things: a childhood injury that disqualifies you for any military service and a fall into the underground as a child."

D and Papyrus looked at each other. "*How did you do that?"

Blue shrugged. "*i didn't. my frisk did. whether or not you use it or choose to live with what you've done is up to you. take some time to think about it. you've been blessed with two of the strongest and most thoughtful skele-bros out there. they've sacrificed a lot of themselves for you. so before you do anything, spend some time apologizing to them." Blue put his hands in his pockets. "*whatever you decide, you'll want to avoid red. he's never going to forgive you for going after his kiddo." He turned and walked out of the lab, giving me a wink with his left eye as he disappeared.

Frisk stared at the reset for a moment. He dismissed it and brought it back. It reappeared, continuing to glow red. He dismissed it again and looked anywhere that didn't involve looking at Asriel.

D put his boney hand on Frisk's shoulder. "*Come on. Some sleep will help." He coaxed Frisk from the table and led him out the door.

D's brother watched them go. "THOUGH I KNOW THE LONG NIGHTMARE IS OVER, I AM UNSURE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT." He turned to me. "THE CHILDREN? ARE THEY ALL RIGHT? I DID MY BEST TO SHIELD THEM, BUT FLOWEY TOOK THE WORST OF IT."

I nodded. "They're fine and sleeping. You should get some sleep too."

He nodded and left. I held out my hand to Asriel. The goat prince dropped the A.I. chip onto my phalanges. I dropped it on the floor and crushed it under the heel of my boot.

"Done."

"Done," he repeated.

"He really didn't want to look at you, did he?"

Asriel shook his head. "Alphys read him as being completely out during the removal of the chip and the implants, but he kept mumbling the entire time. Begging me, or rather his Asriel, not to put the chip in. That I would die if I did."

"So the A.I. murdered it's creator every reset."

"Seems that way. Take out the only person who could do anything about him."

"You took everything out of his head?"

Asriel nodded. "For the first time in a very long time, he will be alone in his own mind. A Frisk completely free of a Chara's influence." He shrugged. "Well, as free as he can be. I can't take away his memories." He elbowed me in the side. "It's been a very long 72 hours. Hit the hay."

"Yes, Sir." I short cut back to the suite I shared with Paps, showered, and fell into bed. In the morning, I found Red getting the back of his rib cage rubbed by his kiddo while he lay on Frisk's couch.

The boy Frisk was stuffing his face with pancakes at the dining table while my girl put a plate of pancakes in front of Papyrus the Greater. He had a book in one boney hand and his reading glasses on his face. Ninja Sans napped quietly in a chair.

Frisk smiled at me when I sat down. "Did I miss anything interesting last night?"

I poured myself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table. "Blue gave him a reset that would not only take him back to birth, it would alter his life story entirely."

Frisk crossed her arms over her chest. "So Blue offered him what he wanted? Did he take it?"

My girl and Red's Frisk both looked at me while the little boy scarfed down the pancakes in front of him. Red and Papyrus looked as if they could not care less. "He's thinking about it."

The kiddo pushed her blue and purple hair back and looked at Frisk. "Would you take it? If Blue gave it to you? I mean, you've done some terrible things in your past."

Both brothers were suddenly all ears. Well, all inner ears at least.

"We all do things we regret, sweetheart. But learning from our mistakes and working to make up for them are part of being an adult."

"You didn't answer the question," she pointed out.

My girl smiled at Red, his eyes just popping over the back of the couch. "No. I wouldn't."

D stuck his head in the door, followed by his brother. "*We don't mean to barge in, but our Frisk is missing."

Red laid back down and snorted. "*of course he is."

Frisk swatted him with a dish towel. "How long has he been gone?"

"AN HOUR."

Frisk put her hand on Papyrus the Greater's shoulder. "Will you clean up when everyone is done, please?"

He nodded.

Frisk looked at the D. "Follow me. I know where to find him." She kicked off her slippers at the door and put on her sneakers, forgoing the flats I knew she'd bought just for the dress she was wearing. We went down the hallway to the second garage. She stopped in front of the empty space where her car should have been, though she didn't look put out.

"Your jeep is gone," I said.

"When you said Frisk was gone, I figured the jeep would be gone too," she said. "Would you mind taking us in the Chevelle?"

I shook my head. "Do I ever? Where too?"

Following her directions, I drove the Chevelle deep into the forest outside St. Canard City. Frisk directed me to slow down about twenty miles in along a road that seemed to never end, and turn onto a well hidden drive way. The driveway went partially up the side of a hill and I saw her jeep parked at the end. I parked next to the jeep and looked around at endless trees. There was a smile on Frisk's face, like she was returning in her head to some dearly held memory.

We followed her along a trail to the top of the hill and the tree line cut away to reveal a beautiful log cabin.

C burst to life on her shoulder. "This is it! This is the place in your head!" He turned to Frisk. "It's real?"

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "Of course it is. This is my father's cabin."

The view from the hill was amazing. Trees in every direction and a lake at the bottom of the hill.

Frisk tried the door to the cabin and found it unlocked.

Inside, military awards and honors hung on the walls next to portraits. Each of the three walls around the fireplace in the living room was dedicated to a different person: one to Frisk, one to her mother, and one to her father. The fireplace wall and mantle were covered in pictures of the family. I spotted several recent ones one: Frisk and I with Verdana at her wedding. C sitting on Asriel's shoulder during Asgore's birthday party. Grace and I at a car show. Ravie and Paps out fishing. Frisk and I dancing at the township block party.

D stared up at Frisk's wall. "Your father was very proud of you."

She nodded. "He died during the war. His base was under attack and rather than evac he stayed to pull his aids out of the rubble." She pulled a photo of her and her father from the mantle to look at it. "Ended up taking a lot of shrapnel after a hit to the weapons depot."

"I'm sorry."

Frisk smiled, touching the picture. "I got see him before he died. I was stationed at the base he was shipped to for surgery. I miss him a lot."

"OUR FRISK DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE HERE."

Frisk put the photo back on the shelf. "He's probably down at the lake. Follow me." She led us down a trail to the lake. D's Frisk was sitting at the end of a pier, staring at the water. My girl sat down next to him and pulled her shoes off to dangle her feet in the water.

C looked around. "This isn't a lake in your head. It's an ocean."

"That's because everything seems bigger when you're a child," both Frisks said.

He looked at her for a moment and then back at the water. "Sorry."

"For what?"

He frowned. "Everything, I guess. But I meant for backhanding you." He leaned back, resting on his elbows. "How do you do it? How do you live with you?"

Frisk gently swung her legs against the water around her feet. "Since the door was unlocked, I'm sure you saw the inside of the cabin. All I ever wanted growing up was to make my father proud of me. He was a three star general. And though he wasn't involved with any part of Project Viper, he did see my name on the roster. He visited me at the Project's HQ after my initial training."

"He told me that, as a Viper, I'd be asked to do some very terrible things but that I had the choice in how I went about my missions. And how I chose to act, whether I took the easy path or the hard one, whether I painted the world red or covered myself in grime, was the difference between being a murderer and a Viper. So whenever I had the choice, I chose to dirty myself rather than swim in blood. Though that isn't to say I always had a choice. I just kept holding on to dad's words."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the water.

"Have you decided?"

He frowned. "No. Taking it means Papyrus won't remember what I put him through. Sans' memories will still be there, but not as sharp. And some not at all. Choosing to live with myself means making them live with it too. But now that I have the ability to change it, I'm not sure I want to be someone else." He sighed. "I don't really know what I want, do I?"

Frisk pulled her feet out of the water. "You want peace. It's only been a few hours that you've had your head all to yourself in a very long time. So take a while to think on it. You can stay here as long as you like, but no wild parties. Mom would kill you."

He snorted. "I don't know magic so there's no way I could get a keg up here anyway." He looked at her. "Will you come by?"

"Sure."

"Then I'll take you up on the offer."

Frisk smiled and pulled her shoes back on, uncaring that her feet were still wet. She stood and headed back to us. "You'll need to stock the fridge, but otherwise, everything you need is in the house." She smiled at D. "And the piano in the den was tuned not too long ago."

D smiled brightly.

"I'll stop by to check on you three every once in a while or whenever you call me to stop by."

"THANK YOU."

Frisk nodded and took my hand. She looked back at her double for a moment before leading me back up the trail. She went into the cabin and stared at the photos on the walls.

I noticed an old Polaroid camera sitting on the mantle above the fireplace and smiled. I took it from the shelf.

"Come here, Sunflower."

I put an arm around Frisk, pulling her close, and snapped a picture of the two of us while she giggled. The Polaroid frame slid out.

"*Hey, Frisk! Have a minute?" D asked.

She kissed the side of my skull and hurried outside to see what he wanted.

I put the camera back on the mantle while I waited for the picture to develop. As the image came to life from nothing, I pulled the one hidden in my pocket out and compared them. Perfect. I looked around for the time machine and didn't see it. I waited and did not wait long. A sound I'd only heard once before and would never forget rang in my ears. There it was. I placed the new photo inside.

"Good luck, buddy."

The machine disappeared. I stared down at the old photo for a minute and put it back in my pocket.

Frisk came back in. "Did it turn out?"

I shook my head.

"Oh well." She smiled. "The film in it was really old."

I took her hand. "You gotta feel bad for the camera though. It never get's to be in any of the pictures."

She punched me in the arm.


	13. Core Issues Guide and Writing Notes

Hey everyone! Here is the promised guide and it's organized like this:

First will be interesting tidbits about the characters that didn't make it into the story.

After that, I'll talk about the development notes from each chapter.

Lastly, there is a FAQ based on questions I've received about the story.

But first and foremost: My beta for this story was my husband Dave, who put on a brave face listening to me talk and talk about this thing for three months straight.

Characters:

 **Bones** (Agent Aster) - a Gaster!Sans and the first inspiration for the original one shot that is now the first episode. Frisk gave him the nickname Bones originally because he's all bones, but later evolved into giving him the same nickname as her favorite Star Trek character Leonard 'Bones' McCoy.

Because there isn't a Toriel in this world, there wasn't anyone for Bones to promise that he would protect a human coming through the door. The photo that was Bones' one hope through the years was the reason he didn't kill Frisk when he saw her the first time. Think about that for a minute: a human with a lot of LOVE walks through that door, of course the first monster in the Underground is going to attempt to kill them. Also think about how he must have also despaired that the human in the photo that he'd placed all his hopes in had so much LV.

 **Frisk** (Agent Serif - because when Bones is alone, he's _Sans Serif_. Ha ha!) - Frisk's personality was based very heavily on Agent Carolina from _Red vs Blue_ in the beginning of the series and is the inspiration behind C being an A.I. Frisk is a huge sci-fi nerd, a trait that she gets from her late father, though we only got to see glimpses of it through out the story. In my notes, Frisk's full name is Frisk Emily Church and the only time anyone every said it was Mob!Sans in a scrapped episode. Emily as a middle name was simply chosen from a popular baby names list and Church as a last name was a reference to her original inspiration from Red vs Blue.

 **Male Army!Frisk** \- His original appearance in the scrapped version ep. 9 did not paint him well and was before I decided that he would be the villain. When his Chara wasn't trying to mess with him, he proved to be very charming and considerate, though also very devilish in approach as seen with handing over his phone number while tempting Frisk with another kill for the night. He's just as competitive as his counterpart and, had he had his mind to himself, would have been a formidable foe. His A.I. really did squander what it had.

In my notes, his full name is Frisk Ethan Cross. A name meant to be analogous to Army!Frisk's.

 **C** (Chara Dreemurr) - the Artificial Intelligence, who later outs himself on being the actual Chara, that lives in Frisk's head. That C was the original Chara was off the cuff while writing the reveal of the other souls, which was also off the cuff. In fact, most of things regarding C happened as a natural flow of the writing and had not been pre-planned.

 **Asriel** \- Asriel had a few character rewrites. I wasn't satisfied with him until I saw a piece of fan art for an adult Asriel that I can't find anymore (sadness!). The fan art depicted Asriel as a strong individual, one that was part warrior and all leader. There was a set expression to the eyes that I wanted to convey in words: Asriel as true king and a leader deserving of all fealty.

Asriel and Frisk are officially siblings. In Frisk's journey through the Underground, Asriel had to cut her shirt off of her after her fall for surgery and gave her one of his old striped shirts to wear. Which fooled whole bunches of the Underground, Asgore included, into thinking she was a child (since only children wear striped shirts). Even after discovering that she was an adult, Asgore still named her a member of the Dreemurr family. Though Asriel and his father have had their share of disagreements, Az is happy to have Frisk for a sister and refers to her as his family. I'm kind of sad that we didn't get to see Asgore in the story. In a scrapped draft there is a picture of him at Muffett's bakery celebrating his birthday with Asriel, Frisk, and Grace.

 **Papyrus** \- He turned out to be way more of a troll than I intended to start but it makes sense for the background I gave him and G!Sans. Paps just picked up the natural inclination to be a troll from the Gaster I wrote into the story.

 **Alphys** \- Alphys is only seen a few times in the story which makes me super sad. She had a major role in several drafts that were later scrapped.

 **Undyne** \- Only two appearances by the sexy fish? Oh man. I didn't intend that, but I wasn't going to shoe horn her into the story. Her first appearance was a great way to lampshade that she was well aware that her bestie and his brother would sometimes start acting and thinking like their original self. And that this was normal... well, for her at least.

 **Blue** \- The commonly used nickname for the Prime Sans. He directs agents from other timelines through a special set of cellphones he and his Alphys created to deal with anomalies.

 **White** \- I love the human theories for Sans! While I don't think they explain enough, I can totally see where it comes from, so I wanted one for the story. And every time White was in the fic, I desperately wanted nachos. I wrote several scenes with him and his Alphys. Their work life in the lab is a seamless friendship and they work with and around each other like its nothing. Unfortunately, all of those scenes were scrapped.

 **Red** \- Red saw so much development behind the scenes before actually making it officially into the story. See the chapter notes below for Ep. 9 for more info on that. He was my favorite character to write for during this series: when he arrived, he stole the show!

Bones said it best in Ep. 4 when he pointed out that Red was caring in unexpected ways to those he's given his loyalty. And it's plainly evident at every turn: his commitment to caring for his little sister; his relationship with his brother in which we see hints of his willingness to be submissive to Paps (even though it's played off as a joke); his friendship with Army!Frisk is obvious is each interaction. When Red loves someone, he _loves_ them in the way they need it most.

One of the major themes (or _Core Issues_ ) of the story is understanding and it's played out thoroughly in Red's character. He understands what's needed and provides it, sometimes at great cost to himself. The male Army!Frisk desperately searched for someone that understood him by attempting to find copies of himself. Red and Army!Frisk's friendship was based on a deep understanding that while their experiences were completely different, the similarities in decisions made them two peas in a pod. My biggest concern with writing their relationship was showing how comfortable they were with each other without it coming off as romantic or sexual.

Cool side note: whenever I couldn't think of what Red would say in a certain situation, I would think "What would Aunt LeeAnn or Uncle Jim say right now?" And dang if it wasn't spot on! (My Aunt LeeAnn and Uncle Jim are freaking awesome!)

 **Fell!Frisk** \- Making a believable genius character wasn't as difficult as you would imagine. I read a lot of sci-fi and _Ender's Game_ by Card is a great read if you want a look inside a genius child's head. Unmentioned in the series was her outings with MTT, who would take her to have her hair done, which is why it was different colors whenever she appeared.

An unmentioned bit from the scrapped original episode nine was that she worked clean up for her Grillby and would show up first thing in the morning after breakfast to help him get the place ready for opening. UF!Grillby even had a few lines of dialogue where he commented about how honored he felt that a member of the royal family was not just willing but happy to stoop so low as to help him.

 **Fell!Papyrus** \- While Paps didn't get as much dialogue time as I would have loved to give him, you definitely got to see that the kind of person he became post-Frisk. I went with the idea that Paps very desperately loves his older brother and fears his leaving, hence why he wasn't happy with Sans going back to the Lab. He does, on a logical level, understand that Red will never leave him, but centuries or more of living with that fear doesn't make it automatically go away post-Frisk.

He dearly loves Frisk and was the first to truly kneel to her in the version of the timeline I wrote for this story.

 **Fell!Gaster** \- Gaster here was meant to be every bit as disturbing as I could possibly make him. By having Bones and Frisk refer to him simply as Dings, I was attempting to indicate that they had known him long enough that calling him by a nickname was normal. My writing notes listed Gaster as having been angry that some random human child had been given his beloved wife's name. Until he met Frisk. The quote directly from my notes was "Lucida always wanted to have a little girl." He is very fond of his daughter and distinctly pleased that she loves him dearly. He's also smart enough to understand that he is incapable of raising her, hence leaving her to Red.

 **Agent Tahoma** (Lily Williams): In my original notes on Lily, she had a huge crush on Asriel. I had even written a scene in which she and Alphys were staring at Undyne and Asriel on the training floor with double nose bleeds. This was later scrapped completely. Her later fangirling about Frisk was off the cuff. I wanted a way to show how the general population felt about something that Frisk often hid from.

 **Agent Franklin** (James Foster): James being Frisk's childhood friend was completely off the cuff as I wrote his dialogue. His notes included a list of embarrassing things he knew about Frisk from high school which were available for classic noodle incident references.

 **Agent Niagra** (Larry Rivera): Larry was my back-up character. If I came to a point in my writing with a role that needed filled, he would be the one to do it and so he became the sniper in residence when I needed a sniper.

 **King Chara** \- If you are a Triple A game dork like me, you recognized Chara's get up right away: the newest version of Dante from Devil May Cry. His powers are a reference to Yuri from Shadow Hearts. His possessiveness of his Frisk is not an indication of something abusive but rather a reflection of an earlier draft. In the original chap 10 draft, his Frisk was badly injured after an attack by MC, prompting Chara's willingness to join the good guys. He doesn't like to rely on people and when one of the two people (G being the other) that he gave his trust to was injured, he was ready to make a deal.

 **Mage!Frisk** \- If you are an obscure RPG nerd, you would have recognized this Frisk's look as Ellen from Folklore. In a scrapped episode, you would have seen a personality inspired by Alice Elliot of Shadow Hearts, another obscure rpg, and my second favorite game in the whole world. That's also where her long white hair and blue eyes came from.

 **G** \- G is the character I almost forgot. Originally, G was going to be a GoopySoul reference, was almost a reference to Fell!Gaster until I wrote him, and settled into the Sans I need to off set the edge of King Chara. I'd seen some artists do a very sweet faced G!Sans and I wanted to give that a place in the story. I particularly liked Fell!Frisk's mention that she'd call him just to talk.

 **Dragon Sans** \- D, as everyone started calling him, is based on the artwork of Roman-Kun on tumblr. I was dead set on having a dragon Sans break that front gate in spectacular fashion in the final episode. In an earlier draft, Dragon Sans was a summon from an AU I've been working on for a while with a mage!frisk. As the story developed, D naturally became the homage character you see in the story and Mage!Frisk became King Chara's love interest. I feel kind of bad saddling such a great Gaster!Sans with such a terrible Frisk though.

 **Grace** \- I wanted to introduce Army!Frisk's mom at several points in the story but it never came together or the character didn't work properly. She went through several name changes before I downloaded a most popular baby names list, pointed at the screen with my eyes closed, and her name became Grace. Her appearance is short, but I wanted to show that she understood her daughter's life and the danger it entailed, as well as a good relationship with Bones. In a scrapped draft of Ep. 3, before I had decided that Bones and Frisk would have more than just a very deep friendship, Grace had referred to Bones as her future son in law and was the person who suggested the new agents be 'saved from Frisk' on the training floor.

Chapter Notes:

 **Ep. 1** \- This entire episode was inspired by Borouro's amazing art. It was the watershed moment of several years of writer's block.

 **Ep. 2** \- St. Canard City is a reference to Dark Wing Duck, which I happened to be watching with my bestie and her sister while I was writing the episode. My beta wanted, as an addendum to this episode, a mini episode with Frisk, MTT, and Blooky having fun in town and for it to just be mad cap. I never had the inspiration to write it. I just couldn't see them getting into much trouble with wanting to make sure Blooky was happy and comfortable.

 **Ep. 3** \- Grace, Frisk's Mom, was supposed to make her first appearance here and not in the second to last episode. But every time I tried to bring her in, it just did not work. She just wasn't the character I needed her to be. It wasn't until the development of the plot and specifics of Project Viper that she became the character I needed for her brief, but important, appearance in ep. 11.

 **Ep. 4** \- I love steampunk and this, essentially fluff piece, was great fun to write. "The Pearl is in the River" is an old cliched spy phrase from tons of movies and it was fun to play with all the ways a 'pearl' could be in a 'river.'

 **Ep. 5** \- Getting Fell!Frisk and her relationships to the other characters in Underfell right was super important for me. I also wanted her to be super believable because I had a feeling she would come back multiple times.

 **Ep. 6** \- I changed up the narration for this episode, not because I was tired of Bones, but because I needed a third person style voice to narrate the story from. It was also a good time to let C have his one stage. The first draft of this episode was completely different from what you saw. Originally, Frisk confronted Riley directly and he pulled the mercs out and instead of the male Army!Frisk in her apartment, it was Riley. I really didn't like how that worked out and I didn't want the reveal of the past Frisk held so tightly under lock and key from coming out so soon. So I slept on it and when I woke up, the villain of the story was ready to go to paper.

 **Ep. 7** \- I really like the idea of an Undertale set in the American Old West. I grew up in a place surrounded by the kind of folklore and regional stories you get from living in the middle of dust flats and lovely oases of trees and lakes. The roller skating intro came together after I took my little girl roller skating for the first time. Of all the fights I wrote for this story, the tentacle fight was the most fun.

 **Ep. 8** \- Red vs Who? was an idea my beta had and it's potential for extreme hilarity made it a pretty easy write. However, the first draft was so short, I considered scrapping it all together. I'm glad I didn't. I wanted to do my own take on 'swap' and the idea that an Underfell style Sans and Papyrus would also be laid back surfers was too good to pass up.

 **Ep. 9** \- Originally, I had written 9 right after writing 2. The entire episode had been written from Frisk's point of view and was supposed to be Red's first appearance. In the original draft, Red was very much the sweating, scared, obviously lost pre-frisk character that we often see in a lot of fics and art. It was also the first appearance of the male Army!Frisk before I had decided that he would be the villain of the story. After thinking about Red and what kind of person he would be when faced with the Frisk I wrote him, he evolved into the character we see in the story. And that meant an entire episode was scrapped from the series. What I wrote instead was the pivotal episode and the point of no return for the story. My beta literally jumped out of his seat reading it.

 **Ep. 10** \- This episode started as a visit to G, Mage!Frisk, and King Chara's world, where visitors were physically changed from human to monster and vice versa, with Bones being human and Frisk being a chimera type monster. It was a total fan service episode that lamp shaded whole bunches of stuff from the Undertale fandom like monsters going into 'heat,' Bones nearly giving himself hypothermia and needing to snuggle, etc. It was funny and ultimately, scrapped.

I wrote an alternate beginning for this episode. It started with Bones and Frisk discussing Verdana's college tuition over a breakfast of crepes. I wanted to show that while they could not be parents in a traditional sense (Vivi is only a few years younger than Frisk), they did support Vivi, Rav, and their grandmother Carol financially. The breakfast was interrupted by Paps making off with his brother and Alphys for the Gravitational Waves announcement. Imagine G!Papyrus running down the hall with Alphys under one arm and G!Sans hung over his back like a coat, shrugging at everyone they passed.

 **Ep. 11** \- Before I realized that I had hit my end game, I wrote about half an episode with the Undertale Mob AU. I was really proud of my depiction of Mob Boss Sans and no one will ever get to see it. Oh well.

 **Ep. 12** \- The lab scene drove me crazy. I kept hitting a wall with it and couldn't figure out why. I slept on it and when I woke up (in the middle of the night no less) I had the scene together. Four hours later, I was very tired and I had most of the final draft together.

The crochet was happening! It was not going to escape! I tried so hard to put in ep. 5 and I couldn't make it work, but knitting Fell!Paps and crocheting Fell!Sans is my headcanon and it was happening!

Interesting note: I wrote the scene with the camera while writing ep. 8. I knew where I wanted the story to end.

 **FAQ:**

Why doesn't your G!Sans smoke?

I don't like it so I chose not to use it.

Can I write/host/role play/etc. an Ask blog for Army!Frisk?

No. Absolutely not.

Who was your favorite character to write?

Red. Boney-hands down. Underfell!Sans was a riot and he had a lot to say in my head and my story notes that eventually made it into the story.

How did you stay inspired while writing?

I took a lot of walking breaks and once the weather warmed up, running breaks. Fell!Frisk's kidnapping played out in my head during a run.

How did you keep all the characters straight?

I gave them all very strong, unique personalities, memorable motivations, and kept notes on them all over my drafts. Then I wrote them over many drafts. One of my fav tricks for getting character personalities down is to 'take them on vacation' in my head, see how they act at their most relaxed so I know how they act at their most stressed. Frisk spent a lot of time sharing a hot tub with Kcalb from the Gray Garden in the 'vacation destination' in my head. No, it wasn't sexual. Seriously, it's Kcalb. He's not doing anything other than reading and eating as many sweets as he can manage. And Miss "I'm-too-reticent-to-even-tell-Bones-what-I-need-that-Gaster-has-to-do-it" wasn't up to shenanigans either.

Was writing a relationship between a monster (Bones) and a human (Frisk) weird?

Not really. And I don't mean that on some weird kink level. Frisk, as mentioned by Bones, only feels attracted to people that she has a deep emotional connection with. So she wasn't attracted to a skeleton per say, as much as she was attracted to Bones himself. The weird part was remembering to write in the obvious bodily differences between them. My beta didn't like it though.

How did you write the fight scenes?

Fight scenes were hard for me until I read one great piece of advice: "Watch a fight scene. Describe what you see." After watching a bunch of fight scenes and writing down what I saw, I was able to start putting into words what I saw in my head. The tentacle fight from 3:10 to Snowdin? I watched a fight with a grappling hook before writing it.

Did the male Army!Frisk get everyone out of the Underground?

That was part of his problem. He got everyone out... except Asriel. That's why he kept resetting. He kept trying to save Asriel and failing because the A.I. would kill him when Frisk was too weak to resist the influence. His world isn't actually in shambles. When we see it in the story, it's several hundred years on. Anyone who was still alive has left the area, hence it becoming farm land. The male Frisk was using the home he felt most comfortable in _in the future_. Remember that Fell!Frisk said that they traveled through time to get to the AU. His Papyrus figured out how to move forward and backward along his timeline but could not figure out how to move his brother through it, meaning that Dragon Sans had to live through all that time the regular way. What this means is that everyone he knows and loves is still there. It was important for the A.I. to keep him away from the monsters he set free because he was very proud of saving them and it gave him peace of mind.

Why you use they/them pronouns for the Prime Frisk?

Because the Prime Frisk has, over every reset, been every Frisk. I wasn't using they/them pronouns as a statement of any kind. I was being literal.

Any chance of a sequel?

I don't know. I'm taking a break since this has been three months of my life. I turned my husband into an Undertale widower and my children into Undertale Orphans! Not that I think my two year old noticed. My six year old had a lot to complain about though. I have some ideas kicking around in there though I'm not sure if I have something concrete enough to really get a new story together. I am thinking about it. Both Army!Frisks and Fell!Frisk are having a hot dog stacking contest in my head right now and it's really entertaining.


End file.
